Al

Today, my Al has been gone two years.

I'd like to share some thoughts.

Al loved being silly and having fun! In many ways, he never grew up! That was part of his charm! And, in many ways, he was never a child, was always an adult! That was what made him a good child, brother, husband, daddy, papa, employee, church member, all around good man!

Al was a cute little guy who just got better with age! His family was so important to him! He loved them so much! And he was proud of them in various ways. His little sister, Paula, was his very best friend. She had some hard times in young adulthood and he was so proud of how she matured and worked to become a successful nurse! He always loved her most I think.

His other siblings were much older than he. His sister, Pearlene, 12 years older, was his other mama. She defended him, made sure he was stylish when it became important in those early years, and treated him with respect. His only brother, Olen, was his idol as a little kid. He prayed for Olen in his troubled years and was so very, very happy when he gave his life to Christ shortly before his death! I can only imagine the rejoicing the two of them are doing! His sister, Sandra, was the baby for seven years before Al came along. There were the most fireworks between the two of them, and yet, when he spoke of her, he did so with great love. When she received her own cancer diagnosis, he cried. Hard. And when she was pronounced cancer-free, he rejoiced. Hard! And of course, he loved his mama and daddy! He strove to always please them and felt it keenly when he knew he had disappointed them in some way. He became the good man he was because of his family!

Al purely loved being a daddy! Even during those difficult teen years, he doted on his girls and was so proud of them! He worked long, hard hours in order to give them everything they needed and most of what they wanted. He loved their talents! Was proud of all they had accomplished! Was proud that they worked hard, played hard, loved hard! He often teared up when talking about his girls! He loved playing with them and would toss the ball (that's how Kim lost one tooth), fling them in the air (that's how Chrys took a major splat on a floor), and let them climb and play on him endlessly. Any little gift they gave, especially those purchased on their own (the fuzzy dice) or hand-made (the sun face and the sloth) were prized possessions! I think the hardest thing he ever did was give them away to another man. Yes, he purely loved his children and strove to be the very best daddy he could!

While it was hard to give them up, he really and truly didn’t mind because he was giving them to such fine men. He loved his sons-in-law and they loved him. That says a lot about all of them! What a blessing Craig and Dusty were to him! He was proud of the men they are and so pleased at how they loved his little girls and his grandchildren! He did not think of them as sons-in-law, he thought of them as sons!

His grandchildren were the joy of his life! He adored these three wonderful gifts from God! And what a good papa he was! From shooting bows and arrows and BB guns to video games to letting Kylie put bows in his hair, to just being silly with them, he was willing to do just about anything to make his grandchildren smile and laugh! He went to soccer games and football games and concerts and anything else they were involved in! He was so proud of the young men Ashton and Hayden were already becoming. And he doted on his little princess! Yes, his grandchildren were precious to him!

Yes, his family was very, very important to him!

But most important to him on earth was me. What a blessing and privilege it was to be so loved in life! We were high school sweethearts. We grew up together! From our first kiss when I was barely 14 and he not quite 16 to his efforts to tell me he loved me the day before his death, I always knew, even when we were fighting, even when things weren’t going well, even when I was not lovable, I always knew he loved me! More than anything or anyone else except for God. And sometimes he struggled with even that! The best man I ever knew, loved me! What an honor!

And I loved him!

I always will!