A most special man

This is my grandmother..AKA Sally Field!

My grandfather, Thad.

Today is such a sweet day! This picture is of my grandfather Thad Browder Today would have been his 74th birthday. I had the most special relationship with him. You see, even though my grandparents were not perfect people they always made sure that the grandchildren knew they were loved. He loved Grammy with all his heart and he was always about family. I was among one of the most fortunate one of the grandchildren because I was able to share a lot of my life with them because they lived closer to our family than the rest of my cousins or aunts. Plus I was older. My other cousins are a little younger than me and were so young when he died they they were not able to share as many things with him before he died.As far back as I can remember they have always, and I mean always were there for any birthday party, school function, whatever...My Grammy still continues on this tradition and she has such a huge amount of grand kids and great grand kids. As the Proverbs say, She is so blessed..what a legacy Grammy has.



Gran-gran as I have always called him went to be with the Lord my junior year in high school..I remember the day as if it were yesterday. About nine months earlier he was diagnosed with a brain tumor called a glioblastoma. Which means budding tumor. It would increase in size every few weeks. Sadly, the doctors gave us devastating news that there was no cure, but surgery would only buy us precious time. I was actually at a softball practice when my dad came and pulled me off the field. I remember being so shocked that it was here. I don't think that you ever are able to cope with losing someone just because you are given a notice that they do not have long to live. If it were not for my Health Occupations teacher that year I would have failed 11th grade. I was so devastated that my grandfather would not be there. I was not a believer in Christ at that time, so I remember being angry and bitter toward any mention about God during those times. I remember praying to God, but angry because God wouldn't heal this great man. But when I became a christian I let those feelings go and realized that God has a plan that he is weaving together. I honestly feel that in some way with my grandfather passing away had a part in my journey to seek our Heavenly Father. One of the most honorable things I was able to do for my gran-gran was I had a letter published in a book that I had written to him about how sad I was to let him go but that it was ok. Because of that they did a special on him and the book at our local television station. That was precious to me! Now, I look back and see that God did hear my prayer and heal him. He is no longer suffering or in pain. It wasn't my idea of healing but it was God's way of ultimately healing him.



We had a very unique relationship. When I was young I remember going to his house and him playing and chasing me around the house. He would always say, "Last one to the car, loves Tracy Vaughn." Now don't ask me who Tracy Vaughn is...it was some inside joke that has always been some what a tradition in our family to say when we were playing around. He would always pretend he wouldn't see me in his favorite chair and sit on me and say, "Where is Amy Sue?" And I would just giggle....We would go down to the Fast Fare and he would buy either M&M's or Mickey Mouse popsicles! To this day I love M&M's and when I got married in honor of my grandfather Hilton gave me a bag of M&M's after they pronounced us husband and wife. On any given Saturday he would come by our house and pick me up and take me to the beauty shop and get my hair done. When I turned 13 he came by the house one afternoon and told my mom he was taking me to go buy makeup. Not just down to Wal-mart and buy Cover girl. He wanted me to have the best. We went down to Belks and he walked up to the Clinique counter and told the lady he wanted all the stuff from cleansers to eyeshadow for me. My eyeshadow was a baby blue and I had pink blush! LOL! Did we all wear blue at that age? Several times I remember him coming to my house picking me up and taking me to my most favorite store... Maurices! Not only did he buy me like a dozen outfits but they also had the jewelry, socks, and shoes to match with each outfit... Now Hilton should know why my love language is gifts!!!!! The most special thing that he did for me was after he was diagnosed he had my grandmother put back some money to save for the prom dress of my dreams my senior year. Unfortunately, he never saw me in it...but it was beautiful...white and sleeveless...I looked like a princess!



Ok,ok...yes I was spoiled! He did it to me...poor Hilton...LOL! I have so many wonderful memories. Not only during those trips was it about giving me gifts, but we also had "talks". With anything I ever struggled with I always felt like I could share them with him. Who knew that God knew what he was doing when he gave me a grandfather to give me such wise advice when it came to handling people. He never knew that I met a fella named Hilton who was going to be a preacher. I have always taken the advice he gave me and still practice it today. One such advice..."Say hello to everyone you meet." "Smile at everyone and treat them the way you want to be treated." The list could go on and on!



My Grammy has stuck to tradition and carries out the job with making sure our family is taken care of. She is a strong woman and I treasure the things that she has brought to my life. I know she loves and misses her husband every day. Sometimes when we are together we will say, "If Gran-gran were here, he would fix this issue..." She is such an inspiration and even though she can't always now be at every function all the children in the family are involved with, I know she wishes she could. We are all spread out the U.S. now. But it never fails, she ALWAYS has a Hallmark card in the mail to every grandchild at every holiday. And it is always signed XOXOXOXOXOXO Love, Grammy. My daughter Kyndal Grace laughs every time and says, " I know this is from Grammy because of the XO!" She is a spunky lady and I call her Sally Field. She takes care of her family and you are not allowed to hurt anyone in her family unless you want to deal with her. She is fashionable and loves Liz Claiborne. I hope I have her wonderful genes and still look so young when I am around her age. She lets the children pull out every Disney movies she has in the house and never raises her voice to them while they are tearing up. She was there for every birth of my children. I thought that when I was having Kaitlyn she was going to get kicked out of the hospital because they were just not doing enough for my pain! I laugh so hard thinking about that. That is why I call her Sally Field...(She reminds me of her in Steel Magnolias) One of the most comforting times I remember her there was after Caleb was born he was in critical condition at the NICU and it was dark outside. I had been crying and was so tired and in so much pain. My parents, and Hilton's family were there. I happened to look up and there was Grammy with my two aunts coming to be with me. Just me! To help me. I am so blessed with a great family!







As for now.....



I know he would have loved watching me on my wedding day marry the man I love. Or for the birth of my children. I know he would have loved to watch my other cousins and my brother getting married. I know without a doubt he would have been overwhelmed with joy and tears of all the great grandchildren he would have had to love on...and possibly would have treated my daughters the same way as he treated me. He would have pulled some of us and my other family back into a reality check when we messed up. Not in an ugly way, but more like a gentle tug while holding on to us tightly...just as our Heavenly Father does. He had a way to just fix things.



For some reason, God needed him on March 30,1994. I know without a doubt we will see him again! I can't wait. I will see him and our precious child, Bailey,that we lost 5 years ago.