Rest In Paradise

The storm Isaac is finally over and I am back to playing with the pawns of real life. It was quite an adventurous week and honestly a well-needed time for Matthew and I to escape realities on a sort of mini-vacation.

It started Monday afternoon when we stocked up on water, ramen noodles and snacks to last AT LEAST three days. I worked only until 2:30 when they finally shut down the store and ventured home with a box of Brothers chicken and biscuits.

When I woke up at my in-laws house Tuesday, the sky was beginning to darken. We stayed indoors until Matt came home from work and boy! Were we excited and quite happy to see him home. Even his brothers were worried about him. But since 80% of fears never come true, so say the statistics, Matthew was completely unharmed.

Matthew and JP.

A little while later, the rains started to fall so, as country folk do, we went outside to throw a football around and walk on the levy near the mighty Mississippi River. It was quite an adventure; Of course I went through two pair of clothes by the end of the day but it was worth it.

Matthew was told by his boss not to venture out to work due to impending dangers the storm might hold. Yay! I was so happy to have him home safe-and-sound. And he was happy just to be there to protect me. lol

Matt and JP focused on shooting people on the Xbox.

We played Xbox and Apples to Apples until the power went out that evening. Then the generators were hooked up (the men went outside in the hurricane to accomplish this; go testosterone!) We commenced to playing with flashlights, coloring by candlelight and sorting through 13 decks of cards. I even played solitaire at the table (with a real-life deck!) until about 12:00 when I went to bed.

I slept on a mattress in the living room. They left open the curtains of the big bay windows facing the greens of Louisiana. The night of the hurricane, I woke up at about 2:00 and saw the shadow of the trees bent down to the ground, swaying in the rain and darkness. When I woke up again at about 7:30 in the morning, the trees were in the same position my eyes left them. That was frightening. I had never been in a hurricane that lasted so long.

For the rest of Wednesday rain was still coming down heavy in intervals. We played cards, and more cards, and more cards until cabin fever drove us to nip in frustration at each other's heads..and then we played even more cards. After we couldn't take even one more round of poker, Matthew and I ventured out into the storm to his Aunt and Uncle's house to rent Lord of the Rings.

We got the movie but were invited inside and drank Barqs, ate cold, fried chicken and ironically played over an hour and a half of Spades...a card game...wouldn't you know it? We said our goodbyes soon after; shoeless and tired I rode piggy-back home on Matthew's shoulders. That night, we hooked the tv up to the generator, huddled around the screen and watched Frodo begin his journey to Mordor.

Barq's at the Aunt and Uncle's house.

Thursday morning, Matt's parents went to the hospital because grandpa was omitted; he was unconscious when his wife tried to wake him up that morning. The boys and I went over to help Matt's Uncle in the yard to pick up debris and tree limbs now that the storm was finally over. Then I went to my work place and helped clean up some water damage there.

Later that night, we watched Part II of Lord of the Rings where Gollum/Smeagul, the coolest character ever, made a lasting impression on my very soul! To rabbit trail for a moment, that movie was a lot more comical and a lot less scary then I suspected.

Friday, we completed the journey with Frodo in the morning, then all sat in the heat with a few fans and an xbox hooked up to the generator. By this time, the sun was back in business and the humidity too. We all wore our skimpiest clothes and everything from our skin to the sheets to the very floors themselves were slick and sticky with moisture from the air.

I contemplated how women of the 1860's even 1950's survived in this place without a/c. By the end of the day, everybody was grumpy, snappy and tired.

Anyways, it was back to real-life by Saturday and back to my current place where a/c and electricity exists in abundance.

That was a recap of my week with the storm. Now comes the devastating bit of news that Hurricane Isaac--nay, life itself--has thrown upon my future family.

Matthew's grandfather passed away this past Saturday.

Matt, Grandpa and I at his retirement party.

I am heartbroken over the circumstances. While I know he was suffering from terminal cancer, death never registers in your mind as a possibility; there is just too much left my mind said he needs to be here for. One of the things I confided to Matthew was that his face was one I looked forward to seeing, could actually envision being there at the wedding.

I reflect back on the first time I met him; I was helping him tear down a set from a musical the church had. When we were finished he took me and the family out for fine-dining sushi. When I went away to college, he always asked Matthew how I was doing. He even invited me to his retirement party when I came back to visit in December/January; he called me up to the front with the entire family and was acknowledged and introduced to the other guests as Matthew's "girlfriend" (even though we were engaged at the time...I was upset at that, I will admit).

He was a very sweet man that I desperately wanted to get to know better. I know there was books upon books of amazing and fun Grandpa-like stories in the history of his life that I itched to unlock over time. He was a fun individual with a great personality and charisma about him that I would label charming.

He will be missed. I reflect on that moment when mama2 sat the boys down with tears streaming down her face as she said it was just a matter of time before he would pass away. It was a heart wrenching silence, heart-splitting moment I won't ever forget. And I cannot imagine the pain his wife and three children--including my father-in-law--must be enduring at this point.

I was in tears as I read on his wife's face book status, with a picture of her beloved, "The love of my life died today." She always said they were soul-mates and I can believe it. They were cute together, and worked great as a team, it was very evident.

Grandpa was an amazing guy; I am so glad for the impacting memories I did have with him, how few they may have been.

Love and death are the only two components I know of that have the power to alter our lives for eternity. When both hit, we are never the same again. And I hate the fact that life cannot pause for a few days in the midst of this tragedy as it did for Hurricane Isaac but must continue on with its same demands.

That is when life becomes unfair.

But I do know this, this post I am making to my blog will not be filled with the excitement and hum drums of wedding planning, but it is here to honor Grandpa and the legacy he left behind. I am honored that the very last time Matthew and I saw him, he smiled and said, "I heard December the 12th is official. Congratulations to you both!."

We weren't even supposed to go to that party that day; to think if we would not have gone, we would have missed out on that blessing from him, once taken for granted.

Grandpa, we love you, we miss you, we look forward to seeing you again. May your memories live forever in the hearts of your family. And as my brother in law put so accurately on facebook, Rest In Paradise.

~Rose
P.S. Please keep Matt's family in prayers AND
Pray for their electricity to come back on. There is nothing worse then these stressful circumstances in this draining Louisiana heat.

For Matthew. Keep holding on, Babe, in this hard time. I am here for you.