On the fourth of June, it will be two years since my grandfather passed away. It hasn't been an easy two years, and I frequently remember the time I was lucky enough to receive with him. I just miss him, everything about him.
To say that my grandfather was a good man would be a colossal understatement. He was a kind and loyal man, a hard worker, and a patriot through and through. Above all else, my grandfather was the best damn husband, father, grandfather, and friend to those around him. He left a lasting impact on the lives of those he interacted with, and I'm hard-pressed to believe that the world will ever see another like him. I know I won't.
He was unique, and he was someone I looked up to. I wouldn't even hesitate to say that he was one of my closest friends, and I know that he was always there for me. My grandfather once told me that he would always be proud of me, and that I am an Evans, which makes me strong enough to do whatever I am passionate about. Our family was something my grandfather always held in high regard; he poured his heart into the Evans name, and that effort is reflected in my aunts, my father, my brother and I, and my grandmother. He did a good job, and is the type of person I aspire to be when I decide it's time to have a family.
I'll admit that I had some trouble writing this article, because as I said, I still miss him dearly. The hardest part however, wasn't looking back at the experiences that I had with my grandfather, it was thinking about the future that I don't get with him. My grandfather won't be at my graduation, and it's hard still knowing that there will be one less person smiling in admiration over my first step into the adult world. He'll never get to meet my beautiful girlfriend; I think they would have gotten along swimmingly, because they're both amazingly strong individuals with enormous hearts. I'll never get to have a drink with him at my wedding, just the two of us, man to man. It would have been an honor to talk with him over a drink, to ask him how to be the best man I can be, to ask the secrets to a long lasting marriage and how to be the best husband. He'll never get to meet any of my children, and that is a hard pill to swallow.
That being said, any children I have will never go without knowing who my grandfather was, I owe it to them to tell them about a man who grabbed life by the horns.
