Papa's Little Angel

A few of you had the privilege of knowing my Papa (equal emphasis of both syllables), Will and Sophie's Great Grandfather. He was a wonderful man and died when I was in elementary school. All the time I knew him, he was paralyzed on one side of his body from a stroke. The stroke also affected and "mixed up" his emotions. He would start laughing at something, and in a matter of seconds he'd be crying. They weren't tears of sadness - they were tears of joy in the truest sense.

Now my little Soph is like Papa reincarnated. I'll tickle and play with her and she'll start laughing, and in a few seconds I'll have to stop to see how I hurt her, only to find a delighted grin on her face. When she laughs her big belly laugh, it sounds like she is crying. This brings back sweet memories of my grandfather, his "Slopped Dripper" (some of you know what that means!) and all the other things that made him laugh. And I think he must be looking down at Sophie with a big proud smile and tears running down his face.

With love from Papa's Little Brown Jug