Growing up, my grandparents were a big part of my life. I loved my grandparents to death and wish they could have lived forever. My grandpa was diagnosed last May with stage four cancer, and my grandma was diagnosed with COPD two years prior. God took my wonderful grandparents last year around this time. In memory of their passing I would like to say thank you for all the things I never got the chance to.

Thank you for coming to all of my extracurricular activities. You each gave up your evenings to come and support me. No matter what the activity was I knew I could always count on you to be there cheering me on. You sat through countless soccer games and drama productions. You even came to my choir concerts, which I know were not always your favorite. Thank you for the bingo nights and episodes of Jeopardy you missed to watch me do the things I loved.

Thank you for all the time you spent with me. No matter how short or long the time was, you always made the most of it. You always made sure that every moment was filled with adventure. All the time I had with you I will never take for granted. I only got to spend 21 years with you but I thank God for them.

Thank you for all the dresses you made for me. Grandma, you were always willing to make dresses for every event. You made my Christmas dresses and even some play dresses. You were always up for the challenge of fixing my dresses as well. Grandma, you came in clutch when I needed my dress for junior/senior redone. Grandpa you were always there for moral support for grandma as she stitched away. Thank you for all the hours you spent sewing away on your machine.

Thank you for all the game nights with Grandpa. Grandpa, I never thanked you for spending hours on end playing games with me. It was one of my favorite parts of coming over. You always let me pick the game and would play as long as I wanted. I know you let me win. No five-year-old can win every game of go-fish.

And all the shopping trips with grandma. I know how much you loved taking me and my sisters shopping. Our shopping trips taught me about valuables. The better the deals, the more you get. You taught me the importance of a budget and a bargain. We always had so much fun shopping and these are memories I will always cherish.

Thank you for being strong. Through everything you both went through you never showed a sign of weakness. You each had your own moments of strength. I know things got hard at times but you never once let us know how it affected you. The strength you showed was inspirational. You were both strong enough for the family when we couldn’t be strong ourselves.

Thank you for showing me true love. You had a love that everyone dreams of. The kind of love that you find in fairy tales and only a select few are able to find in reality. You loved each other to the point that you would have died for each other. You showed me that soul mates really do exists and that I should not settle. Your relationship set a standard that I hope someday I am able to reach.

Thank you for loving me for me. I know at times I was difficult and asked a lot of you but you always loved me. I was always able to be myself and not be afraid of you looking at me differently. You believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. You loved me when I didn’t love myself. I never questioned that you loved me unconditionally.

Thank you for all of this and so much more. Rest in peace you two. I hope I make you proud.