A Very Difficult Time

On Monday morning, following a long battle with Emphysema and COPD, GranMickey (my dad) passed away very just after 6:00am.  Until very recently, he has been active .... he loved to drive the boats, fish, visit the beach, travel, and "tinker" with this or that.  I remember him calmly teaching me to drive many (well, not TOO many, right ?!?!) years ago.  He was always fixing my bike -- the chain came or the gears slipped.  He was never too busy.  I also recall him helping me as a teen while I attempted to cook for myself a little (when I think of all the burned foods he sampled - HA !).  He was always there, sharing a funny story or a laugh, or a hug and some cheering up.  And then with the grandchildren, he shared their wonder at the Egrets, the ducks, a neat shell.  He encouraged them as they each learned to swim.  GranMickey spent many hours driving the boat here and there for them to play (esp to the island, a favorite swimming spot), goofing off with them on the jet skis, and we lost of track of the many fishing poles he fixed, one after the other, while the children "fished" through the years.  GranMickey was a very loving man.  He treasured my mother and was her very best friend.  GranMickey will be missed dearly by everyone at Beck's Bounty. 

But the story continues ....

 

A little less than 5 years ago, GranMickey met a stray elder Golden Retriever wandering near my parents' lake house at Lake Oconee.  He called area vets first, and then made posters to hang all over town, thinking that such a wonderful dog must be lost and missed dearly by her real family.  But no one came forward to claim her. At the time, he and my mother were not really in a position to have a dog despite their love of Goldens (they were still traveling a lot), so he began to try to find her a new "forever" home.  DadToCherubs and I, and our 6 Cherubs, fell in love with Miss Daisy just two weeks after Daisy and GranMickey "met".  It was love at first sight !!  We adopted Daisy and brought her home to Tennessee with us, forever.  She was in extremely poor health then, but our wonderful vet helped get her as healthy as she could be again, despite her advanced age.  Daisy continued to travel with us to the lake, made many daytrips here and there, and also stayed with Dumma & GranMickey when we Beck's had to travel.  GranMickey and Daisy always had a special bond, almost as if she was showing her gratitude for his work to find her a wonderful forever home with our family.  It seemed that she never forgot his "gift" .... she was thankful, always smiling at him, and staying close to him whenever they were together.  At 16-17yo, our vet was called early last week because Daisy was not doing well at all.  After a careful exam, our vet said that she would not last much longer, as she has vascular cancer which had spread into her lungs and spleen.  He gave her some medicine to clear up a possible infection, but said that she had very limited lung function and would likely not be with us at Christmas. GranMickey was soooo upset at the news.  Then began the Roller Coaster days -- some good, and some bad.  Our family waited and worried, hoping Daisy would not suffer (we were ready to call the vet again when it was "time") .... she kept having "bad times" which we thought were the end, but then she would perk up again, even catching the ball a few times on Monday afternoon.  Well, on Monday night at 11:45pm (on the exact same day that my Dad passed away), Daisy passed away very quickly and quietly.  Daisy was such  a wonderfully sweet animal, even with her Diva-tude (ha !).  We will miss her dearly !!

Please lift our family in prayer, and also my mother.  Needless to say, this has been a very emotional, extremely difficult week.