Big Daddy - December 4, 1932 - March 3, 2008

Our family has suffered a great, sad and unfortunate loss.

Big Daddy, the girls' grandpa passed away on Monday, the 3rd of March, from...we don't know exactly. Some sort of infection is suspected but we don't know for sure.

He was being treated in Houston for a blood disorder called MDS. It's somewhat of a precursor to Leukemia and we were hoping that his treatments would put it into remission for 18-24 months. We had great hopes. After his first round of a new treatment protocol we were quite optimistic, then he got a fungal infection and they had to go into his sinuses and remove tissue and bone that had become necrotic. Days before he was supposed to be released from the hospital his blood pressure dropped and the doctors put him in the ICU just to be safe.

His low blood pressure cause his kidneys to operate at diminished capacity and he retained about 40 pounds (~5 gallons) of fluids. They started him on dialysis to eliminate some of the fluid but he went into cardiac arrest. They were able to stabilize him, albeit temporarily, and he passed about 3 hours afterwards.

Gina was in Reno for work and started making plans to get to Houston to see him as soon as she could, which turned out to be almost 8pm. The next day she flew home and we flew to Florida for the services 2 days later.

He was a great man and loved the twins. Gina is understandably sad for so many reasons, not the least is she can't call him everyday on the way into work. But she is also sad because she really wanted the girls to have memories of Big Daddy.

And he really loved his grand babies. Almost everyone of his friends I spoke with at the services mentioned how much he enjoyed and loved and couldn't wait to see the girls.

For me, he was a wonderful Father-in-law. He welcomed me into the family without hesitation or conditions and made me feel like I'd been a part of it for years. We should all be so fortunate to have people like Big Daddy in our lives.

If you've read much of this blog, especially the parts about Teagan, then you know I look for signs to let me know that those who have been called home are still "around".

Last week we were in the kitchen feeding the girls. I had my back to the room and Gina was doing something by the fridge when she said "Scott, do you see that?"

I turned around and to see one sauce pan and a hanging basket swinging on the rack. I had felt a sharp blow of cold air through the window a moment before she called me but it wasn't enough to get these swinging like they were AND they weren't slowing down. The other thing I should mention is that these are hanging from a wire shelf that serves as a pot rack and had many other pans in between that weren't moving at all. And these things weren't anywhere near each other...one was on the left side about 1 foot from the end and the other on the right end...a good 3 feet between.

I looked at Gina and said "Teagan? No."

She said "Big Daddy!"

Gina said if he's going to be anywhere, it's with the girls. Which makes me wonder if they've seen him and if some of their chatting is to him, or Teagan. Hmmmm.

For me it's reassuring and comforting that those we love surround us more than they ever could when they walked among us.

Rest in peace, Big Daddy...and visit often...we love and miss you.

Today was one of the best days of my life.

This morning started off great. When I went into the nursery to get the girls I immediately noticed the distinctive scent of vomit mixed with the mintiness of White Flower Oil. It was Poppy. Fortunately, she was in great spirits...probably because she was about to get another bath barely 12 hours after her last one. I know she loves her baths but this isn't the best way to get one!

We played a little then wanted to take the girls out for breakfast. We weren't out of the house for 5 minutes when, again, I noticed the familiar smell of...barf! There goes breakfast!

So we went home and Gina fed the girls while I removed the cover, straps, and hardware from the smelly car seat and washed them. The girls went down for a nap as I came upstairs and they slept for about 2 hours.

So we had breakfast and relaxed. Gina even tried to take a nap (I think she managed to drift off a bit) but Tilly put an end to that.

After they got up we went for a walk to the Castro with our new stroller...a fancy tandem model which is much easier to maneuver than the side by side ones. The girls love the new stroller, probably because it's so open on the sides and it's much like Mister Toad's Wild Ride...or should I say we push it like that! Got some coffee and groceries then stopped for a little lunch. The girls were both so happy.

We came home and after playing some more the girls took a late nap. Tilly awoke around 6 so I started their dinner and Gina woke Poppy sometime around 7pm just so she could eat...not much, but at least a few bites.

We put them down for the night later than usual but Poppy managed to throw in one more good barf for the evening. It was very much like the guy at the end of Monty Python's Meaning of Life. Get me a bucket. She did it so matter of factly, unfortunately she was in Gina's arms and it came pouring down on her arm completely without warning. She didn't make a peep or cry afterwards.

They finally got to bed around 8:45 and we heated up some leftovers for ourselves. And now I have to run to the store for some much needed supplies.

Sounds pretty ordinary and uneventful, huh? It may seem so but I'll tell you, the time I spend on the floor with the girls crawling all over me, sitting in my lap or leaning against me; every time they come over and raise their arms asking to be picked up; every forehead kiss and smile; every time they turn and run just so I'll chase after them; every time they try to feed me their snacks or give me their pacifier; and every time I look at them and just about start to cry because I love them so much makes every seemingly ordinary moment extra-ordinary.