The other day I was scrolling through my 'YouTube' recommendations and the music video for Andy Grammer's song, 'She'd Say' popped up. I've never been a giant fan of Andy Grammer but I like a few of his songs so I pressed on the video and was astounded. The video made me cry and I'm not a very emotional person.
The premise of the song is Andy Grammer singing to his young daughter about his late mother, her late grandmother. The song's lyrics are heavily based on the advice that his mother would likely give his daughter if they did ever met.
As someone who recently lost their grandfather, the song hit hard for a multitude of different reasons. I, unlike Andy Grammer's daughter, was lucky enough to have my Papa in my life for nineteen years. He was never a very serious person, always cracking a joke or telling an absurd story. He was an OBGYN so he had some gross ones. However, one of my fondest memories of my grandfather was one where he wasn't being serious but giving me and my younger brother some serious advice.
It was a few years ago. Everyone except me, my younger brother, his girlfriend, and my Papa at the table. My younger brother always liked to wind up my Papa to get him to tell a story. That night my younger brother was going on and on about what he was going to do in the future, very much not being serious, trying to get my grandpa to comment. However, instead of participating in the joke, my grandpa got a fairly serious look in his eyes and told us that he wanted us to do whatever would make us happy.
We were quite taken aback by this response. We kinda laughed and shrugged it off at the time. It wasn't until he passed away did it hit me. I think a lot of people take their relationship with their grandparents for granted. My grandpa wasn't the most conventional guy, but he still gave me a lot of good life advice through his actions or words.
When I look back at my life and my relationship with him, I can see the impact that he had on me and all of my cousins. He was the epitome of don't take yourself too seriously, something that I live by. The fact that he was an OBGYN and wore a jester's hat when he was delivering showed that type of person he was.
Listening to 'She'd Say' was a friendly reminder for me of how important the role of grandparents is. Even if they have since passed on to other, otherworldly, adventures.
