In Memory Of...

"Allan Joseph Mc Owen, sadly passed away on Thursday 1st of March, An amazing man that lives on in all of us. He will be sorely missed by his grandchildren Naomi Groenewald, Shelly and Nevern Mc Owen. His children Garth, Miles and Alethea Mc owen but mostly by his wife Helen Mary Mc Owen"

I started writing a big long spiel about this event in my life, but at the moment, it's actually a little bit to difficult. But I want to honor him in my blog, so I will keep it short and simple.

On Thursday morning, my sister called me to tell me the news that my grandfather, who was a father to me, had passed away. He had been struggling for a while (maybe the past 6 months), and just last week he was in the hospital. But this past Thursday morning, he was lying in his bed, with his favorite socks on, and his beautiful wife of 56 years close to him, and he went peacefully in his sleep. 

While this is a very traumatic experience for me, and I feel pain I have never known before, I want to tell you the good things about him, and the things I will never forget, because I think he would like that very much.

He was a family man, all his life he was successful, and he had the cars and the houses and the clothes and the whole works, but when it came to family, he would (and did) give it all up in a flash. So the first thing he taught me was that nothing matters more than family, that's why I couldn't have asked God for a better way to take him. I mean the most important people in his life were happy and safe and he could leave this earth knowing that the most important thing to him, his family, were happy. His wife was right there with him, and his two beautiful granddaughters were out following their dreams, both together with men that love them and will take care of them when my gramps couldn't anymore.

To me it just seems like he had had a crazy great life, lived 82 and a half years, and he wanted to live some more, but his body wouldn't let him. He had such an energy-filled heart, full of drive and enthusiasm for life, but it feels like the world had become an unworthy place for him. He was full of life and passion, but his body was full of ailments, so he had to move on to a life where he could run free forever, and his spirit could be wild and beautiful and untamed by the ways of this world. He needed to go somewhere where their was rest for his soul, and where he could be taken care of in the ways that none of his family, or doctors here were able to.

My heart is filled with much grief and pain and a heavy burden of worry for my family. My gran is now widowed and I am thousands of miles from home, unable to give her even so much as a hug, and my sister cared and loved my grandfather as deeply as I did, and that brings my heart pain to know what she feels and not be able to comfort her. Equally to the amount of ill feelings I feel, I am also comforted and put to peace by the thought that he lived good, and he passed by well, and now he is happy, peace filled, and resting. If he were here he wold be struggling, but now he is in a better place where God can take care of him. 

I have learnt so much about my Oupa, as we always called him, in his passing, and as I've tried to deal with it. And I know that I will never forget anything about him, the memories, the laughs, the strict discipline, the bed time stories, the keenness for learning, and the love that he gave an knew every day of his life. He knew that I loved him and even the last time I saw him, at 19 years old, I sat on his lap and whispered in his ear that I loved him more than anything. He will live on in my life, and through my life forever, and not a day will go by where he is not part of my life. 

Oupa, this is for you, I love you and you were the most amazing person to have in my life. Thank you for everything you did for me, and all the things you gave and taught me, that have made me the person I am today. We will always love you and remember you, but I know you do not want us to be sad forever, so I will laugh and enjoy life, but always with you in my heart, and I will always live a life that you'd be proud of, I promise. I love you.