After seeing most of my friends grow up with all of their grandparents, knowing I only had one on this earth made me very appreciative to have the one I was given. Having one grandparent to grow up with definitely was different. And because she was my only grandparent I grew up with, she was so unique to me in the ways she taught me to be strong. If you have a grandparent still physically present in your life, cherish it, learn from them, take in their wisdom.
Unlike most grandparents, I did not have those weekend visits with my grandma because she lived with us instead. This allowed her to take the role of another parent figure in my life, and she did a pretty awesome job as that. She dealt with my childish temper tantrums in such a calm manner and I'm still not quite sure how she did that. By watching how possible it was for her to stay calm with all the yelling, I now have grown to stay calm when things start to go crazy.
How much she did for my brother, my parents, and I was incredible. My mother did not have to worry about my brother and I getting on the bus because my grandma would make sure we were ready to go so my mom could get to work. While we were all at work and school, she would get dinner ready. It truly amazed me that she was able to keep going every day. Her husband died years before my parents were even married and I remember hearing her cry over missing him and it amazed me that even though she cried and missed him some days, which was fine, she still however pushed through and realized that she had all of her family that loved her. At such a young age, this taught me how important family was and that no matter how far I fall, my family will continue to see potential in me and will love me.
Even though I did not fully master standing up for myself until college, I definitely learned some of standing up for myself from her. She was the first to make me realize it is never OK to change who you are for a boy. She drilled into my head that women are just as powerful as men, that we can do anything they could do, and that it is 100 percent OK to have standards when it comes to who you are dating.
Growing up with one grandparent definitely taught me most of the important lessons in life. Above all, she was my best friend and I rarely thought of her as just an average grandma. It has almost been seven years, since my grandmother has passed away and I still would do anything to have her here, giving me advice for the things I have been going through. Even though I am saddened by the fact that she couldn't physically be there to watch me get my license and will not be there to see me graduate and get married, I am positive that she is watching in spirit.
