Today, I had a student tell me about how he had just found out about 2 dollar bills and how they were super rare. To his surprise, I pulled one out of my wallet and told him he could see it, but could not keep it because it was special to me. "Wow, that's cool! How did you get that?" I told him the story of how Uncle Paul would give $2 bills and gold dollars for holidays/birthdays. This is the last 2 dollar bill my Uncle Paul had given me, and I keep it in my wallet as a reminder of him (and of course for some good luck). He responded with "That's a shame your uncle had to die". And wow, is that not the truth. Not just a shame for Uncle Paul, but everyone else that has earned their wings.

Uncle Paul wasn't the first death I had experienced, but his death was the first of someone whom I was close to. Uncle Paul was my godfather, and he played a huge role in my life. He drove me anywhere I needed when my parents weren't able to because they were working. He was there for everything, especially taking me to the bowling alley or band hoagie making Saturday mornings. Unfortunately, Uncle Paul had cancer. He passed away the summer before my senior year of high school, which means he missed a lot of important events in my life. Events such as, my last 4th of July parade(which was his absolute favorite), bowling tournaments, high school and college graduations, and all other future milestones. He passed a few days before the 4th of July, and I think he might have done that on purpose. I believe he did so that he didn't have to miss the 4th of July parade, but only that year he had a new seat for it. On the day of my high school graduation(the first major milestone in my life he wasn't there for), I was sad that he wasn't there to witness it. In the middle of the ceremony, a rainbow appeared. I still see signs of him. Every 36 I see makes me stop and think of him, and actually the following picture from my phone was auto-named IMG_2136.

Almost 4 years later, I experienced the death of my Gram, another person I was very close to. She was always there to give me a hug and make me laugh, and she 100% passed on her chin to me. Gram was one of the strongest women I knew and I'm so happy to have had her (and her chocolate pudding pie) in my life. Watching me on Saturday's when Uncle Paul would drop me off after bowling, or whenever else my parents needed her to. Being over her house was the best; she was always willing to watch cartoons or play games (and of course, I learned the famous family rules from her). Even when visiting her while in the hospital or nursing home, she never let me see her spirit down. One of my favorite memories of her is during one of her hospital visits, she had been asked "How do you feel?" and quicker than I could even look at her, she responded "With my hands, how do you feel?". I saw her through many ups and downs, but she always lit up when one of us (especially her grandkids) would walk into the room. Gram was always so proud of us in everything we did; dance recitals, band concerts, sports, doing well in school, you name it and she was so happy.

Here we are now, another 4 years later. Since then, I have seen more people pass away; those who were close and those who were more distant. Friends, family, family's other family members, parents of friends, grandparents of friends, cousins of friends, friends of friends, the list unfortunately goes on and on. This year has not been pretty. Not only were there more distant deaths, but close ones. In March, Chris lost his dad. Two months later, my Uncle Tom lost his battle to ALS. Deaths suck, and that's the best way I can put it. No matter if you've never experienced them or experienced multiple, if you know they're coming or they take you by surprise, they hurt. These deaths have made me realize how important it is to spend time with those you love, because you will always cherish the memories. They might not seem like anything important in the moment, like this 2 dollar bill, but I am so thankful for the memories(big or small) that I have to look back on.