Rough draft: "Sifting Through An Unsure Life" - Part 1

****This is a little bit of what I have come up with for my book...it's a work in progress - keep that in mind :)*****

What a delight when they came out of the room with an Elizabeth in tot.

My parents didn't have much in their pockets when they decided to get married and create me - but they had something more important than anything money could buy. A loving family that would sacrifice everything they had to make sure they had all they needed. Love.

My mom's dad, Elmo - Paw Paw B, had three houses on the dead end of Shelley Street in North Baton Rouge that he built...with his own two hands. He and Maw Maw B lived in one, we lived in one, and honestly - I was a baby - I don't know who lived in the third one. Family I'm sure. Mom and her dad had a bond that a lot of us have never even came close to with our fathers. They were pure perfection in each others eyes. My mother has told me many times about the days that changed her life...forever. Each time she tells it - she cries just the same.

I believe it was around her birthday - I was only 7 weeks old... She had brought me next door with her to visit with her parents. Paw Paw B kept wanting to hold me. He was sick with a cold and I was so young. The family had been very conscious about germs because my baby cousin, Holly, was extremely sick and very susceptible to becoming sick. She had a rare disease that ultimately took her life. Most people would have to wear a mask when around her. On this particular day, Paw Paw B had his mask in tote and even offered to wear it so that he could hold me in his arms. Maw Maw B wasn't having it. Ha! "Be patient now, there's always tomorrow" is what she would keep telling him. He complied...it wasn't a really big deal. He knew that there was always tomorrow.

The next day, Mom remembers watching her dad pull out the driveway to go to work. It wasn't very long after that she received a call from Maw Maw...clearly upset. Thoughts began to race through her mind and immediately she cried out for precious Holly. "No baby, it's your daddy.", is what she heard on this phone call. My paw paw, just moments before, had a heart attack on his way to work that morning. He had managed to pull his truck onto the shoulder as it was happening so as to not put anyone else in danger. With his truck pulled onto the shoulder, right at Chippewa, he slumped over and passed away.

I don't think my mom has been the same ever since that day. There's an empty spot in her soul that no one has or will ever be able to fill. I never got to know my paw paw b - but I imagine how our relationship would have been all the time.

***to be continued***