Wells the First
Last week, Steve’s grandfather passed away. His name was Wells. Yep, that is who we named our sweet boy after. He was 95 years old according to his birth certificate. According to him, he was 96, and the birth certificate was incorrect… always had been. Either way, he was born a long time ago; before zippers or traffic lights. Hard to imagine. He was a Marine and was married to Cecilia (Steve’s grandmother) for 72 years. They lived in Florida, so we saw them… but not as often as we would have liked. Wells loved my kids so much. And I loved him.
For several days before he died, he was hospitalized. Steve visited him, and Wells asked about Cecilia countless times. He was concerned about her wellbeing above his own. On the night the doctor told Cecelia he probably would not make it, she refused to leave. The nurses brought in a bed and she slept beside him and held his hand. Seventy-two years. Cecilia is now blind, and Wells had looked after her ever since her vision started going bad. Now that he is gone, she will be moving from the home they’ve shared for so long.
At the service, Steve read a letter that his late father wrote Wells in 1962. It thanked him for being such a great father and example to him. Shouldn’t we all do that? Let the ones we love know how much before it is too late? A few months ago, I went with my Mom to her high school reunion. Of course I didn’t want to, but I did anyway. We spent the day shopping for outfits and getting dolled up. When I was doing her hair, she told me that she had some regrets about not doing or saying enough in regards to her late mother. Then she told me that I could never do or say another thing and still know that I had done enough. (I don’t like things so serious so I replied, “Great, see you after the reunion.”) But seriously, it made my day. Life is too short, goes by too fast and unexpected things happen. I think it is important to do all you can now, so there are no regrets later. I bet 95 (or 96) years flew by for Wells…
Wells was a firecracker. So thoughtful and caring but also determined and tough. I hope my Wells is just like him.
Beautiful story Wowie! God Bless Wells!
So sweet