Do You Ever Wonder........

I'm not quite sure where the name "Sluggy" came from, but my two Texas granddaughters gave Douglas Bynum that name when they were younger.  And, it stuck. 

Strangely enough, they called Hilda Grace "Mary" (that was her mother's name - but Miss Mary died before they were even a gleam in their mother's eye.)

On Saturday, granddaughter Sydney and I went to Meridian, to the hospital, to visit Sluggy. Neither of us was prepared for what we saw. 

He wasn't the Sluggy that Sydney remembered - nor was he the Doug that I remembered. We both knew that he was in the end of life stages - or as a cousin says he was about to finish his journey.

He didn't know we were there. The visit was more for us and for "Mary" than for Sluggy. It brought back memories of the final days of Sydney's "Papaw."  

Late last night, we received the text message that the time was getting close - and then, the final "he's gone" message came.

With the message came a sense of peace because he was no longer in pain and suffering, but it brought sadness to this house where Sluggy and Mary had celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary just three years, earlier.

My mind wandered to times gone by. Doug and Bob would often collaborate in the shop. Bob would loan patterns to Doug and they would plane boards for things that were being built. When we built our house, Doug made the screens for the sun porch. 

Doug loved jokes - and he would often tell them over and over. He liked to talk about his time in Korea during the Korean War, and if he started the "telling"....you were held hostage until he finished his story.

I began to wonder,  what really goes on in Heaven?  Are there Golf Courses? Are there Woodworking Shops? Do old friends get together? Do they really look down on us and protect us? 

I'm going to remember the Doug that I knew and not the one that I saw, on Saturday. As granddaughter Sydney said, "I want to remember the Sluggy that walked up to Papaw's shop - that's the one I want to remember."

RIP, Doug....and if there's a Woodworking Shop in Heaven...I know that you are already there.

Do you ever wonder???