I’ve only know Papa Doug for about seven years. But over the course of those seven years, Mike’s grandparents went from being Doug and Susan, to Papa Doug and Susu. Papa Doug was one of those people who would do anything for anybody. Acts of service must have been his love language. I’ve watched three generations fix a fence in the backyard on a blistering July morning. I’ve listened for the gunshot from Papa Doug’s gun when McCoy and I unexpectedly ran onto a snake after just moving into the new house. When our electricity went out one especially brutal July day, Doug and Susan went to a hotel and sent the generator that was running their house over to ours so our newborn son could have a fan. They have babysat our children from eight weeks old, first driving in from Wagoner two days a week until they later moved about five minutes from us. They’ve taken my Parker to preschool, picked her up and have even driven her to my school so she could do running club with me or be nursed if I had to work late.
Of all the kind things Papa Doug did, the one that topped them all was how he treated my babies. He wasn’t just their great grandpa, he was...he is...their best friend. He has napped with my son and played in the rain with my daughter. He taught them about water balloons, took them on walks to investigate the neighborhood, been the patient while Parks doctored him and McCoy spoon fed him jello. He’s had pillow fights and played in the office until Parker thinks that room belongs to her just as much as it does him. He fostered their love of ice cream, played basketball in the driveway and filled up the baby pool in the shade on a hot day so two little kids could play. He walked our land with Parker planting seeds and tying pink ribbons to mark where they were planted. He held McCoy as he went around the garage touching all the tools, getting things off shelves and really just seeing what kind of trouble they could get into. Those two and their orneriness made Susu and Parker roll their eyes. He and Susu gave up two days for the past five years and he shared his life with my babies. He loved them and they knew that without a doubt.
People say sometimes a person gets a 6th sense about upcoming life events. I don’t know if that’s true but I do know he did everything in his power every day to take care of Susu or Susie as he called her. He loved her in a way that once again left me confident he took joy in serving those he loved. They were inseparable and my heart breaks for her this cold January morning. I think he’s thinking about her though. As I’ve been typing this I glanced up and out the small window in our bathroom, I could see the most beautiful pink, red and purple sunrise. I’ve never noticed it before and even after I got up to take a picture and continue typing, it’s disappeared already. I think he sent it for his sweetheart. An early Valentine maybe.
He’s with Jesus this morning. He taught my ever inquisitive daughter about the Bible and I heard them especially focused on Bible stories and angels over the past few weeks. She knew her Papa Doug loved Jesus. Just like every other part of his life, he shared his heart with her.
The world...the family I’m ever so protective of is heartbroken this morning over the loss of a great man. They just don’t make them like Papa Doug very often.
I hope the time he had with my babies has left a mark on them that causes them to love their family in a way that reflects how he served his.
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