Early Sunday morning we lost my grandfather. And if you were blessed enough to know him, even in the smallest aspect, it truly is a loss. This has been an extremely tough few days, but it is very obvious that he touched the lives of many. The number of pictures people have sent in, the amount of love that people have sent my family’s way. It has come in all shapes and sizes and has come from unexpected places. So many people had love for this man, whether he was Grandpa, Dad, Fun Uncle Eddie, Brother, Friend, Neighbor or even patient at a doctor’s office, he impacted people’s lives for the better.
I had gotten very close to my grandfather over the years, and I am still just waiting for him to pop his head out of his room and give a little wave without saying anything. The mornings have not been the same without him knocking on my door making sure I’m getting up and getting ready for work. I almost instinctively asked what he wanted for dinner when I was picking up McDonald’s earlier this week. I don’t know if those things will ever go away, and honestly, I don’t think I want them to. I hope even when I am old and gray, I’m still missing him just like how I am now. I hope all the memories, good and bad still flow through me, filling me with endless laughter, or misty eyes. And with the amount of stories this man had, I know I’ll have my fair share.
Now if you didn’t have the privilege of knowing my grandfather, let me fill you in on the type of man he was, by telling you everything I’m going to miss about him.
- I will miss hearing him talk on the phone all day long, even hearing him through two closed doors because he couldn’t hear and would yell at the top of his lungs just to simply catch up with anyone and everyone in his contact list.
- I will miss the way he said “helloooooo” the same way every single time somebody called him.
- I will miss him leaving me messages letting me know “it was grandpa calling to check in,” because who even leaves messages anymore.
- I will miss him asking me for simple help adding someone’s contact into his phone.
- I will miss him being the life of the party.
- I will miss him always being down to have a drink.
- I will miss constantly busting his chops every day. And I will miss him constantly busting my chops back.
- I will miss laughing with him every single day. Not a day went by that we weren’t laughing about something, it didn’t matter what it was.
- I will miss him going “Yeah okayyyy” as he realized I was messing with him that would be followed by laughter.
- I will miss him saying his famous “I’m just kidding” when he really wasn’t kidding but he pissed my mom off (this happened quite often.)
- I will miss him telling me I needed a haircut as his hair stuck up in every single direction.
- I will miss him telling us he worked “over there once,” no matter where we were. Only to be followed up with letting us know he had been retired longer in his life than he had worked.
- I will miss him saying “you know” after any regular statement he said, like “It’s too cold for me to go outside today you know” to which I had to say “I know Gramps.”
- I will miss watching football with him, and him getting upset at the team he bet on losing (he always lost.) Only to be followed by “oh well there’s always next week.”
- I will miss talking WWE with him, since he loved it as if he was a kid.
- I will miss him buying me black and white cookies and chocolate eclairs because he knew I liked them, even though I told him I was trying to lose weight.
- I will miss sharing iced teas together, since that was our favorite drink.
- I will miss hearing his old music blasting from his headphones as he came back in from his afternoon walk.
- I will miss hearing him sing Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer all day long through closed doors at the top of his lungs around Christmas time.
- I will miss him going “oooohhh” and being excited when opening Christmas gifts, even if it was just the amazon box and not the actual gift just yet.
- I will miss hearing his charismatic laugh.
- I will miss how he always tried to help with anything in regards to his family or friends. It didn’t matter what it was, if he loved you, he always wanted to help. Even if he couldn’t help, he still tried.
- I will miss him cooking the same two meals whenever it was his turn to cook dinner stuffed shells or porked chops.
- I will even miss him always being in the bathroom every time I had to use it, and his gross sneeze that felt like germs were somehow getting through two doors to get on me.
- I will miss saying goodbye to him each morning before I went to work, and him telling me to have a great day and he hoped I made a lot of sales today even though that’s not technically how my job worked. I will miss him telling me he was proud of the man I was becoming, and how he loved me so much. I will miss his hugs, his kisses, and his smile, but most of all I will simply miss him being here.
I could go on and on about the other things I will miss about him, and the many more memories we have, but to put it simply, he was just the best. He was really the best man, and he will be missed so so much. My grandfather was a fighter too man, he had overcome health scare after health scare over the years. He truly seemed invincible, which is probably why this stings so badly since it was so sudden, and we all thought he’d just bounce back. But everyone has their time, and none of us can control it. I am truly blessed, and forever grateful for the time I got with my grandfather, and I will cherish it forever. If there was a hall of fame for life’s, he would be in on the first ballot. His jersey hanging in the rafters without question. I love you Grandpa. It truly was, a life well lived.
