True Unconditional Love
My Granddaughter
It was in a dark time in my life starting in May of 2013. My wife had just told me that she wasn't coming back home. That she wanted a divorce, she wasn't in love with me anymore. So, I called my Son and told him what had just happened and he insisted I come down to his place. So I drove the three hours to my Son's place to spend the weekend with him and his Family.
The next morning I made a pot of coffee before everyone got up, poured myself a cup and proceeded outside. It was a beautiful morning and I sat in silence watching the sun come up over the rise. As the sun pushed the shadows down I sat there drinking my coffee, cussed some, cried some and tried to wrap my thoughts around the last few years.
I remembered the first time I saw her. I walked into the small convenience store to pick up a couple things and immediately seen her. She was tall, about 6' and slim. She had a long slim neck and her beautiful white/blonde hair was up in a bun. I stopped where I was until someone walked through the door behind me. I walked up to the counter and she smiled the prettiest smile and said "Hello, can I help you?" My mind stopped working at that moment and I don't remember what I purchased but when I left the store I knew I had to get to know her better. After that first meeting, I started going by the store every chance I got and was shocked when I finally got the nerve to ask her out and she said yes.
One of my happiest times was spending the following July 4th holiday with her. In Sept 2009 she stayed by my side when I had a Quintuple bypass heart surgery. We married in May of 2011, again, one of the happiest days of my life. Through all that time, I don't remember a single disagreement. Just seeing her smile made every day a great day.
Well, I told you that to get to this. I was sitting there on my Sons deck having a private moment, lightly crying, trying to stop and compose myself before everyone woke up. All of the sudden my 3yr old Granddaughter quietly opened the door and stepped out on the deck holding her favorite sock monkey in her little hands. She looked at me from just outside the door and asked "Why you crying Pop-Pop?" I tried to explain to her that Nana was never going to come home because she didn't want to live with me because she didn't love me anymore and that I was just sad. I wiped my eyes and smiled down at her.
At that very moment my little 3yr granddaughter totally took me by surprise. She dropped her sock monkey and climbed into my lap, threw her little arms around my neck and hugged me so tight for what seemed like a long time. She then pulled back, grabbed my beard with both hands, cocked her little head slightly sideways, looked me straight in the eyes and with the most serious look on her face, she quietly said "Me always love you pop-pop! OK?" I swallowed hard and told my little darling I loved her and she hugged me tightly again around the neck. She let go jumped off my lap, grabbed her little sock monkey and took off to wake everyone she could. I cried again, but this time it was about how that little girl seemed to understand just what I needed and she gave it to me. "Unconditional love."
