I took for granted my grandparents.
I took for granted that they would be at the door at 8 a.m. every Christmas morning.
I took for granted that they lived a street and a heartbeat away.
I took for granted that they blessed me with gifts every holiday, and sometimes just for no reason.
I took for granted the stories they told at dinner.
I took for granted seeing them almost every single day in the summer.
I took for granted our trips to Florida, our Disney vacation and our D.C. vacation.
I took for granted their love.
I took for granted my grandparents. Because I never imagined a day it would end.
I never imagined a day I wouldn’t hear my grandfather’s voice again. I never imagined a day he wouldn’t be the turkey carver on Thanksgiving. I never imagined a Christmas morning he wouldn’t laugh when we hastily opened our presents or gave us two-pound bags of M&M’s (just to make my mom mad). I never imagined my life without my Pap.
It’s devastating losing a grandparent. It shattered my world. Your relationship with your grandparents is different than anything else in the world. They're the people who your traits came from. When I fought with my parents, they proved to me that some things do skip generations.
They are the joys of our lives who we convince to buy us candy and toys with our puppy dog eyes as children, and the ones we used to one-up our mom or dad's opinion. Well, Gramma said I can have it. But Grandpa likes it. They're the two people, who even though they may not be able to keep up with you, cheer you on like no one else.
When you lose a grandparent, so many things become apparent. And for me, the most apparent thing was how much I took my Pap for granted. There’s so many things I wish I would have asked, so many things I wish we could have done.
Don’t take your grandparents for granted. Call them. Hug them. Thank them for the money they slip you, and the silent nods of approval behind mom and dad’s shoulder. Thank them for loving you so unconditionally. Thank them for being an influence in your life. Thank them, for just being them, because that’s all they ever ask of us.
