The past 365 days have been with no doubt some of the most eventful days of my life. June 9, 2016 I lost my Nana, my dad’s mother. This being the first death in my close family that I have experienced. I did not know how to handle the situation. Leading up to her death, I was in Florida with my family visiting her. We did not know how poor her condition was and that is why I am even more grateful that I was able to see her one last time. While in Florida, I was able to share my favorite memories with her, talk about how crazy the election was, smile, laugh and most importantly, tell her how much I love her. With my Nana living mostly living in Florida, I was unable to see her as much as I would have liked, but knowing she was just a phone call away put a smile on my face. She was one of the most selfless, amazing, loving and best humans in the world. She did not take anything for granted and instead of complaining about everything she was going through, she made the best of it. As I stated in my eulogy, “Although her life ended too soon, I think we can all agree that while she was alive, she has positively impacted every single one of us. From her upbeat personality to her constant jokes, to her passion and love toward her family and friends - I am truly blessed to be her granddaughter. “

When I left Florida to head back to school, since I had prom, my dad stayed. Unfortunately, he missed my prom, but for an extremely valid reason. The end of my senior year was tough. There was so much to be thankful for, like graduating high school and heading to college, but it was hard to be pleased knowing I could not share those times with my Nana.

Then, during my winter break, we found out my Pipa, my dad’s dad, was not doing too well. Being 87, he was clearly not in as good of shape as he was, but up until he was 86 he would go to the gym several times a week (more than I ever will). For the past six months, he had been in and out of the hospital so many times that when we found out in February he was back in there, we almost assumed that he would come right back out. But, to be safe, my family decided to visit him in the hospital as soon as my sister came home from school. As soon as my sister walked into our house, my dad received a phone call from my Pipa’s wife (my dad’s parents were divorced and both remarried), telling us that he had just passed away. As soon as my dad told my sister and me, we were in such shock, we did not know how to react. I immediately rushed towards my father and gave him a huge hug and told him how much I loved him and how sorry I was. Losing one parent is definitely tough, but losing two parents within eight months of each other makes things very tough. This being a couple days before I was supposed to head back to school, I missed the first day of classes in order to go to the funeral and some of the shivas. While writing my Pipa’s eulogy I questioned, “how do you tell everyone how much someone means to you and how much you love them in a few paragraphs?” My Pipa was such a great person with whom I have shared so many great times with.

My Nana and Pipa delivered more than I could ever ask for and I will forever cherish the times I have spent with them. Although these times are emotional, it really has helped me put things into perspective. I have learned to not let the little things bother me, to not take anything for granted, to tell my family how much I love them and to enjoy each and every second I spend with the people I care about because without them, I would not be the person I am today.

I love you so much Nana and Pipa.