Dear Grandpa,

I miss you.

It seems wrong for me to say that since I was only in kindergarten when you passed. Of course, I had the pleasure of knowing you for the first five years of my life, but I was so young that I have a hard time recalling the memories we did share. All I have to go off of is what the family tells me about you.

I know you were a great man. I know you had an undeniable passion for music. I know how particular you would get when it came to unwrapping gifts because you wanted to reuse the paper and/or recycle it.

You enjoyed planting bonsai trees and collecting records in a room which would later become my bedroom when we moved in after your passing. You were very attentive to people's interests, and you had a tendency to cut out and send them newspaper clippings when you read about something that reminded you of them.

I know that you helped raise my wonderful father who I wouldn't trade for the world. I know how in love you were with Grandma. I know how much you adored my sister and me.

In an obituary, you were described as a "self-styled lovable curmudgeon" with an "off-beat, quirky sense of humor," which is a fact my vague memories and I can attest to.

Mom has told me stories of our antics. For instance, you would sing "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" by Napoleon XIV and bounce us on your knee. You used to playfully scare us by sticking your dentures out of your mouth.

You also gave me a big, warm smile and said my name when I saw you for one of the last times before your passing. I tear up whenever Mom retells me this story.

I think it's been about 15 years now. It was definitely strange to be placed in the middle of a family mourning you. I was certainly sad, but sometimes in the following years, I would feel guilty that I couldn't remember you. While the family missed you and the memories you shared, I missed you and all the memories we didn't get to share.

I want you to know we're doing well, though. We always celebrate birthdays and holidays together, as well as remember you fondly. When they talk about you, I try to imagine you doing those silly things, and it makes me smile every time.

I may not have had many memories with you that I can recall, but you're still my Grandpa and you always will be.

With much love,

Abby