These sweet girls in 2012 lost their Papaw James. Wait, I hate that expression because to lose something implies it can be found and held tight again so they didn't just lose him, he died. Yes that sounds harsh and insensitive because it is. When someone we love dies it hurts! It hurts bad.
Anna was barely 18, in her freshman year at college, thankfully she had a great counselor at Cottey who helped her deal with the emotional stress of not just "losing" her papaw but coping with the few short months of his brief illness, the effect it had on her Dad and the pressures of college life.
Melissa was 10, old enough to kind of understand what was happening yet still too young to really process. I see her doing little things to keep her Papaw here-the verbally reminding us about things he did or said to the the cammo bandana sometimes tied in her hair.
Then there is Jess who was only 7. Such a short time to make memories and so young it's hard to hold on to much. She tells me she is forgetting-his voice, things about him...I know it's normal but it upsets her. Her "cope" has been purple. Purple is the color for Pancreatic Cancer awareness, the awful disease that took her Papaw away. Purple has come to signify her "lost" Papaw.
Most of you know how much Jessica adores growing sunflowers. So when I saw a purple "Evening Sun Sunflower" at the store I knew they were perfect! Today she came running in, "Mom! Mom! Mom!!! My Purple Evening sunflower has BLOOMED!!!"The joy on her face is real. I know that even though she may forget his voice, his face, the gestures he used...he will live on because of the importance of being purple.
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