When I open Facebook each morning there is a plethora of posts, sentiments, words of wisdom and encouraging poems for those of us who have lost a loved one. Today my Father has been gone for 16 years ago. He was my rock, my refuge, my anchor in the storm . You know grief is a strange thing. Like the weather in Texas, it is constantly changing. There are days when you notice the weather, you are comfortable.  Then you open a door and the wet cold wintry wind chills you to the soul. For a moment you are frozen from the grief and how much you miss that person. It is at that moment when I am comforted by the memories. I miss my Daddy. Over the past few years I've lost my only sister-in-law Cynthia Floyd. She was very young. She passed away just before Thanksgiving.  Christmas was just around the corner and my dear sister, Annelle Biigone lost her long battle with cancer.  Holidays are a wonderful time of the year when friends and family gather. We share our tales and memories. I'm grateful for the wonderful earthly Father that our Heavenly Father blessed me with.  He truly was a one of a kind and I loved him deeply.  I hope that each of us think about our friends and family member who has lost someone and reach out to them. Offering my thoughts and prayers to each of you who experience this. In our home from Thanksgiving to Valentines we share in the memories of those who have gone before us. To honor my sister-in-law Cynthia Floyd, my sister Annelle Bigoted and my Daddy Gale Floyd.  Brooks honors his precious mother Sallie Irene Moore May. He recently lost his Bubba, John Floyd May. Today we honor Lydia May. Melvin Scroggins, Robert May, Adrian May and his Dad, Milton May. Rest in peace. We love you and miss you. We promise to find comfort in all of the wonderful memories and TO CHERISH EACH MOMENT WE HAVE WITH OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. 

Daddy was never a believer of corporal punishment, especially when it comes to us. He had never spanked me, or raised his voice. However, one day Meredith was with him and she must have done something wrong. He spanked her with a leaf from an elephant ear plant. Oh my Lord, you would have thought he had hung her by the feet and took a bull whip to her. He had never spanked any of the grandchildren. So, Meredith proudly wears the crown of distinction for being the sole grandchild to have received punishment from Papaw. I love you Daddy.

The boys often played on the same football teams growing up because of their age. Daddy would faithfully support and attend games. He didn't miss many functions for them, Grandparent day at school, concerts, PTA, etc. In addition he always bought something from their fundraisers. So while at a game when both boys were playing

Ohhhhhhh! That wonderful smell of SPAM. Every time I smell spam it seems as if warm arms escape from the can. I no longer smell spam, I smell my Dad. The aroma of fried spam with melted velveeta cheese drifting through a brown paper bag as I walked to school. Opening the refrigerator with the visual memories of a hunk of cold spam laid out on an odd saucer, uncovered and drying out. As the years passed He became Papaw however one thing remained unchanged, SPAM. My first born tells her own version of visiting Papaw, running to the fridge and finding her familiar friend, SPAM. It's comical how each of us hold dear those fond loving memories, be of people, place, occasion or specific item which envelopes our heart and soul to connect us with our loved ones passed on. I LOVE my Daddy, in life and in death. Thank you God for my Daddy and spam.