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My
Pepere
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When I was 21 months old, my mother's father, my Pepere,
left this earth. You'd think that, because I was so young, I would not have
been affected by his death. But throughout my childhood, I grieved for my
Pepere. I didn't know why I was so sad, after all, I had hardly known him.
My mom often told me that I had been very special to him. His wife, my grandmother,
died when I was 2 months old, and it was then that my Pepere came to live
with us. My mom told me that I was the apple of his eye. As the years sped by and I grew
a little older, I found myself yearning to know my Pepere. I felt very close
to him, and this confused me, but I liked to talk to him and tell him things
as if he were with me. One year on February 4, I was drawn to go into my
parent's room. My mother had a drawer in her bureau where she kept sentimental
trinkets and many old photos. I knew it was okay for me to look in this
drawer, and I often did. This particular day I felt different. I felt that
I was called to go to the room, open the drawer, and look into a white envelope
tucked on the side. In this envelope were the obituaries of my Memere and
my Pepere. As I read the obituaries, I realized that my Memere was born
on that very day, February 4. I was elated! I just found this amazing and
not coincidental at all. I felt it was my Pepere letting me know it was
my Memere's birthday, which I had not known before.Again, the years passed. I continued
to talk to my Pepere and always felt that he was watching over me. I often
found myself crying or just being sad and wishing he was with me. I grew
up and met a wonderful woman named Donna. As we dated, I found myself more
at peace with not having my Pepere in my life. Then I realized one day in
a shock that Donna had been born on the same date that my Pepere had died,
September 13. One day was talking about my Pepere, and Donna asked to see
where he was buried. When we approached the site, Donna became quiet. Her
mouth dropped open. She said, "Look at the date he died." It was the exact
day she was born, September 13, 1963. She was born at 7:00 in the morning,
but I knew my Pepere had died at 7:00 in the evening. However, later that
night, I was telling my mother about the incident, and she corrected me
saying that my Pepere did die at 7:00 in the morning! To say the least,
I was speechless. Donna and I were married in 1983. It was at this time
that I no longer felt my Pepere's presence. I felt a wonderful sense of
peace.Three years later, I looked at
Donna and said, "You're pregnant." She looked at me like I was crazy and
asked why I would say such a thing. I told her that I had begun to feel
my Pepere's presence again and that I felt he was telling me that she was
pregnant. Nine months later, our son was born. Two years later, the same
thing happened, and our daughter was born. She developed a milk allergy
and from the time she was nine months old she was a very cranky baby, crying
many hours a day. I was attending graduate school, Donna was baby-sitting
daily to help out with the bills. So our daughter's condition challenged
us and drained our energy.One evening about 10:30, I was
working on a paper and the baby started to cry. I decided to let her cry
for a few minutes, hoping that she would fall back asleep. Donna was exhausted
from dealing with a crying child all day and was in bed, but she kept the
baby monitor turned on near the bed. She was about to get up to rock her
when she heard a man's voice over the monitor saying, "It's okay little
girl. Go back to sleep. Shhhhhhh." My wife was thankful that I had gotten
up to comfort our daughter. About 10 minutes later, she came out to the
kitchen where I was working and said, "Thanks, Honey, for taking care of
the baby." I told her that I had not left the table. "I thought she
went back to sleep on her own," I said. Donna didn't believe me and
told me she had heard my voice over the monitor. I denied this and we argued
for a minute. And then suddenly we both knew. It had been my Pepere's voice
Donna had heard comforting the baby.Several years have passed since
that night. Donna and I still recall the incident and we feel blessed that
my Pepere is there, close to us, always watching over our family. I hardly
knew him in life, and I was too young to remember his death, but I know
he lives on and I love him as my grandfather and my friend. I know he has
influenced my life in many ways I'm sure I'm not even aware of. Someday
when it's my turn to go, I will meet him face to face again, and I will
know my Pepere's love again firsthand.  Ken Landry |
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Copyright
© 1992-2002 by Betty J. Eadie |
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