I want to say thank you, grandma, for always being there. No matter what has gone on in life, you have been there.
Even when I went through a period of not talking to you because I was not talking to daddy, you and grandpa have always been there to support me. I remember spending my summer vacations with you growing up.We always had a blast together. We would go vacationing and to the park. As I grew older, we did not see each other as often, and I would not call that much, but I did think of you.I looked forward to spending Christmas eve together. I am not sure how I began talking to you again, but what matters is that I did.
I am thankful to have you there for my wedding and to see Johnathon be born. When life got rough, you were always there to lend an ear. I felt bad from time to time since it seemed like I complained too much, but really grandma, I called because I looked forward to hearing your voice.I enjoy hearing about your day and I want to be sure you are okay. You have always had my back, and I want you to know I will always have yours.I enjoy your visits, and hopefully before long I can visit you again. I talk to you just about every day if not every other day.It is part of a daily routine I really enjoy having.I hate you live four hours away, and I feel guilty you make more trips to see me than I do to see you. Always know I love and care about you. Thank you also for believing in me, and supporting my writing and my dreams of becoming a well-known published author.
Grandpa, I miss you often. From time to time I think about all those times we would go to the park and spend time together. I will never forget the time when I wanted a Furby. We went to several stores before finally finding it. I remember we sang in your truck, making up songs to pass the time, and you got pulled over for speeding. You told me not to tell grandma, but the second we got back to your house I told her anyway.I also remember I used to say two things a lot.One, “Get out of my grandpa’s road.”I do not know how that started, but I remember when we would go anywhere, if someone was in front of us, I would scream that to get them out of the way.I would think they heard me when they moved out of the way, but later I learned it was just coincidence. The second thing I used to say is, “My grandpa is wrapped around my finger.”It was my thumb.There are times I wish I could hear your voice again. I know you are just a thought away, and I am thankful for that, but at times I just want to hear your voice one more time.I remember when grandma called me to check in one day, I was not feeling good.
She asked me if I wanted to speak to you.I was in the car with my friend, Beth, and I told her I would call back on Monday when I was feeling better. That was my last time to talk to you. Before I could call back, you were in the hospital and not doing good. You ended up passing away the day before your birthday.It is hard to believe you have been gone for five years now.
When I think of you, grandpa Parks, I think of you saying, “I’m not a butterfly.” Mama gave you a birthday card and you kept looking at it and you told her this. Anytime I think of this I cannot help but laugh. The card had a butterfly on the front, but that did not mean that you were a butterfly. Anytime I see a butterfly I think of you. I am thankful for the time I got to spend with you before I went into the Navy. I visited you every other day for three months. I would read to you and talk, and spend time in a gazebo outside of the nursing home.I did not get to visit with you much when I was growing up. I mean, I got to see you from time to time, but I really got to know you in those three months. You have been gone now for six years, but I remember spending time with you like it was yesterday. I wrote you a letter when I was in boot camp, and mama told me you asked her to read you that letter five times in a row. You also thought my boot camp picture was mama.
William Lavender, you were not my grandpa by blood, but I viewed you like one. You helped encourage me to write and follow my dreams of becoming a writer. I never thought you would have written me back when I wrote you, thanking you for writing a historical fiction novel that I could get through all the way. I was your penpal for eight years before you passed away.I wanted to meet you, and even planned to do so, but I was unable to before you passed away. You passed away the same week as my grandpa parks.In the same week, I had lost two grandpas.I thank you for writing me back. I still have all the letters you wrote to me and the one writing piece you edited, even though I just sent you a few of my short stories to read for fun.I did not expect you to take the time to edit my work. You also sent me Aftershocks, the novel about the San Francisco earthquake in 1906, a month before it hit the bookstores. I thank you for helping me follow my dreams.I know writing takes a lot of time and effort, but instead of saying to me what is your realistic job, you told me I had a talent for writing and I should pursue it.
I am doing just that.