Whenever I get a stomach ache, I think back to my Pops and his big strong hands, rubbing the aches away. He always made everything better, and I was sure he was some sort of superman. Well, he was actually. When I discovered a scorpion under my bed, he was there in an instant - and like a flash, his hand shot out and smashed it gone. He taught me to skin logs of their bark, ride a motorcycle, and to dig ditches to divert the water on our 3 mile-long dirt road. And I was stronger because of it.
One afternoon, I heard my dad's truck pull up and I instantly knew something was wrong. When he opened the door of his truck, his face was swollen and bloody and he was in a tremendous amount of pain. "I took a tree in the face", he said. And as I rushed him to the doctor, I knew I had to keep it together. Be strong. Be strong, I told myself. Keep it together for Popsy. And I did.
Although his jaw was broken and he'd lost several teeth, he never lost his smile. Someday, I'm going to be just like him, I thought. And over the years, through the good times and the bad, I've learned that it all turns out in the end, and just like him, I'll never lose my smile.
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Between posts on my website, I document my life on Instagram. You can follow along with me there.
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