ust over a week ago Mama Smaggle’s dad, my Poppy, died from complications after heart surgery. I’ve mentioned him a few times here on the blog, you might know him as Poppy Smaggle or if you follow on Instagram you might know him has Jellybeanpoppy. He was a very big supporter of Smaggle. When I first started doing outfit shots in 2007, he and Nanny Smaggle would print the photos off every day and stick them to the fridge until they ran out of room. He was a photographer, so last year our family chipped in and bought him an iPhone so he could see all of our Instagram photos. Although he only had the phone for about 6 months he absolutely loved it and started Instagramming pictures of Nanny’s jars of pickles, his violin students and their beautiful garden. As I was sitting in the church at his funeral on Saturday, listening to my wonderful family give the eulogy, I thought there were some beautiful life lessons in there that were worth sharing with my wonderful readers, so on that note, here’s a little bit of beautiful life advice from Poppy Smaggle.
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There are no degrees of honesty
Poppy Smaggle was a very, very honest man and never ripped anyone off. When he retired, he started teaching violin and instead of quietly pocketing the extra little bit of cash, he declared every cent that he earned to Centrelink so the government could appropriately reduce his pension. He always said that there are no degrees of honesty and this applied to his friends, neighbours, the government and big corporations.
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Be grateful for everything you have
My grandparents worked hard but with four children and usually only one pay check in the family, they weren’t exactly what you’d call well off. My Poppy honestly thought he was the richest man in the world, and he really was. He had a beautiful wife, a gorgeous family and always had enough money to put food on the table. He didn’t need anything else and the best part was that he knew it.
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If you love someone, tell them
Poppy Smaggle was very vocal with his love. He told Nanny Smaggle every single day how beautiful she was and how much he loved her. We’d all hear it and groan about how embarrassing he was but you never wondered if Poppy Smaggle loved you. If he loved you, he told you.
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Help other people often
Poppy Smaggle was very bothered by the injustices of the world. He’d read in the paper about 400 people dying in a bomb explosion in a foreign country he’d say to me ‘400 people Carly. That’s half the people that go to your school.‘ People were never numbers to him and everyone was worth his time. If someone needed help, he’d help them, no questions asked.
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Family is everything
Poppy Smaggle was diagnosed with leukemia 20 years ago. We honesty thought we were going to lose him back then but he went into full remission and we got to have him for many years after that. His health was never very good so he’d always make sure that everyone came to Christmas because every Christmas ‘might well be his last’. It turns out that last Christmas actually was his last Christmas and we’re very grateful now that he always made a fuss about everyone coming for Christmas every year.
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