the years go by so quickly..

His hands were big, and you could tell they had been used for a lifetime of hard work, but there was a gentleness to them. I remember them so clearly. My pawpaw was a mans man. Since my dad died my pawpaw was the man in my life. My grandparents lived in a trailer park, but all of the trailers had been added onto. There is a small town in georgia that has 15-20 houses that my paw paw built with his bare hands. When they tore down a bowling alley nearby he went and got the wood. The trailer my grandparents had, had burnt down. The only thing left was the base, and wheels that they rolled it in on. He took that wood from the bowling alley and used it to start the floors in their house. I can still remember sliding across those floors as a kid. I remember so much about him. Their house was on a hill that went down to the lake. I used to ride my big wheel down right into the lake! My sister and I would spend the night there a lot. They had a huge screened in back porch with astro turf, potted plants, and lawn chairs all over the place. We would sleep out there sometimes. When I think about summertime, I think about that back porch. When I close my eyes I can see every nook and crany in that house. During the school year we would take the bus to their house everyday. He would be waiting for us, with change in hand so we could get an ice cream from the ice cream truck. I remember his blue pickup, and white work van always being in the driveway when we got there. He was always there. I was eight years old when he died. I remember that day like it was yesterday. We got off the school bus and his van wasn't there. I'm not sure what I thought about that at first, but I do remember I noticed immediately. He drove himself to Atlanta to the hospital while having a heart attack. He never came home. This year it will be twenty years that he's been gone, and I still remember everything about him. I remember the way he laughed. I remember what players he didn't like on the Braves. I remember how he would shake his glass and say "Dot could I get s'more tea?" (Dot is my mawmaw) I remember the night my brother was born.. My sister and I had to stay at my aunts house and he came over to make sure "his girls" were okay. I remember sitting in his lap, and him letting me drive! It makes me sad that we live on the other side of the country and my son won't spend as much time with his grandparents as I did with mine. When the time comes.. I hope he has many fond memories. Ellis Beckwith is my pawpaw. He will always live on in my heart. The eight years I shared the planet with him are some of the most meaningful years of my life. 20 years later, and I still miss you. Thank you for loving me, and being there during the hard times. You made my childhood truly special. I love you pawpaw.