"Those people"...

A couple of weeks ago, Poppa passed away. Poppa was the great-grandfather of my four youngest kids. He was Erik's grandfather. My son, Robbie, told me "Poppa died. Gramma called last night and told us." I spoke to my kids on Tuesday afternoon so "last night" was Monday, January 31, 2011. After I got off the phone with my little ones, I sent a text to my oldest son, Christian, to let him know that Poppa passed away. I didn't expect him to say much as he never really got along with any of Erik's family, but he sounded concerned. Probably because he knew I was sad. Right before we said good night, he mentioned that Rex had also passed away. For those of you who don't know, Rex was my uncle Guavi's best friend. If you'd ever been to my grandma's house and spent any time with me there, you'd more than likely know who Rex was. He was a weird looking little man. He was probably 5'3" if he was lucky and after everything he said, he'd add an "oh fuck..." He'd sit for hours in the living room of my gramma's house, chain-smoking his little heart out, perving on me and/or my friends...always trying to party or get something for nothing...he was strange but he was Guavi's friend and I'd known him my whole life. And now he was dead. Just like Poppa. Gone. I was sitting in my room when my 14 year old Cody texted me. I told him about Rex. Then I asked him if he remembered Poppa. And he replied "no i don't remember any of those people." For some reason that made me really sad. See, my kids and I spent almost 9 years with Erik and his family...Cody used to eat breakfast everyday with Grandma Sophie (Erik's grandmother/Poppa's wife). They'd eat sliced apples with peanut butter and Cody would sit while Grandma Sophie and Poppa Jeff played Pitch...yet he didn't remember "those people". I think he knew that I was sad so he tried to comfort me. Later when I thought about it, I realized that maybe he didn't remember them because it was his defense mechanism. It made me think about the last time Cody asked me about Big Erik. About 3 years ago, out of the blue he had asked me "Mom, are we ever going to get to see Big Erik again?" I remember stopping what I was doing to turn and look at him. I asked him "I'm not sure." He thought about it for a second before asking "Will I ever get to talk to him again?" I said "I don't know. Do you want to?" Cody nodded and said "I miss him, Mom. Don't you?" I wasn't sure if it was him that I missed because to be quite honest, I missed my family being all together more than anything. Cody has never said anything about Big Erik again. It really makes me sad because Erik raised Cody from the time he was 18 months old until he was 10 years old. Then...just like that *Poof!* it's like he was never there. I know I was confused after Erik and I broke up...so I can't even begin to fathom how my kids felt. Which is probably why Cody doesn't remember "those people"...and now that I think about it, it's probably easier that way.