On March 14th, 2011, I lost my best friend. My Pawpaw was my favorite person in the world, and I could never imagine life without him. We had "rituals" every week that he would come to see us and even when we would go see him. These plans that we made every week with him turned into a routine that I thought I'd never have to live without.
My favorite part of the week was always the weekend. This was because my Pawpaw would bring us bags of candy every week. Pawpaw would knock on the front door every, and we would race to see who got there first. He always gave the best hugs whenever he came in, and he always brought the best candy.
Even during Easter, we ate so many peeps that I've grown quite tired of them now. He never failed to make the bad days better, and even today I pick up some of the candy he used to bring us so that I can feel closer to him. After eight years, I still miss getting to see him every week.
Although Pawpaw would come to see us, we also went to his house to visit him. On most days we would pick up Wendy's and take it to him. I always worried about my Pawpaw because he would take all of his pills and do his insulin shots while my mom helped him.
We knew he was sick, but we never knew we would lose him so soon. I remember running around his trailer playing "It's time to kiss Jamie!" My sister and I would chase my brother around trying to kiss his cheeks. We loved every second we spent with him, and I never thought I'd have to live without him so soon.
In 2008, my Pawpaw moved to Utah to live with his son. Just knowing he was moving killed me. The weekly visits stopped as well as the weekend visits with candy. I remember him renting a Uhaul and us helping him pack it up. After he moved, we called him as much as we could, but it never felt the same.
He came back to visit a couple of times, but then his health got so bad he could no longer travel. At one point, my parents told me we were flying out to Utah to see him, but we couldn't afford it, so my mom just went. She stayed for a few days and about an hour after she got home, she had a phone call.
I remember her running out the kitchen door crying, and I knew what had happened. My parents, grandparents, and aunt and uncle came to our house that night, and we all stood in the kitchen sobbing for hours. I cried so hard I could barely stand up. Even after eight years, thinking about him still brings a tear to my eye.
On March 14th, 2011, I lost my best friend. I lost the person that I never thought I would lose. We always had so much fun with him that losing him never crossed my mind. Our routines made me understand how important the little things are in life.
