When I was adopted, my parents were considered to be "older." And with older parents come older grandparents. That was perfect.
My grandparents were, aside from my parents, my favorite people in the whole world. They supported my parents when thinking about adoption. My grandpa was the first to encourage my parents to go to China to adopt me, and sadly, he was the first to go. Losing a grandparent who you met once as a baby may not seem that big of a deal to you, but after hearing about how much he liked the same things as you do or hearing that he would have come to all of your softball games, it does leave a dent in your heart.
Giving some background on my family, I have a pretty small family. At home, it was always my mom, my dad, my cat and I. Yes, I have uncles, aunts and cousins, but I was always closer to my grandparents. I would visit them almost every weekend. I would either help them with chores or we would just play games and grab a bite to eat. I would say going into middle school and high school was the toughest time for me.
Coming into middle school, my Nana (my mother's mom) passed away. About a year and a half later, I lost my grandma (my father's mother). This was devastating for me. Everyone has their favorite grandparent and she was mine, she came to everything. My first couple of Halloweens, my pre-school graduation (because that was a huge deal), vacations and mostly everything she could come to.
Then, my second year of high school, my poppy passed away (my mom's father). We got a call saying, "You can come to the nursing home to say your goodbyes." Saying goodbye was the hardest thing I had to do in person probably. So, here is a list of thank yous I never got to tell them. Thank you for...
1. Dropping a dollar when I raked your leaves, and I thought I found it.
2. Showing me the realities of life.
3. Always keeping me well-fed.
4. Loving me unconditionally.
5. Always telling me "when I was your age" stories.
6. Giving me the in's and out's of everything.
7. Believing in me when I didn't.
8. Keeping a smile on your face when the times got rough.
9. Making me laugh even when I didn't want to.
10. Keeping almost every promise you ever made.
I say "almost" every promise because they promised to always be there, and I know that just because they aren't physically here doesn't mean that they aren't here at all. But I wish to this day that I had my grandparents with me. Love your grandparents if you have them, and thank them when you can.
