The Death Of My Grandmother

The day August 10 2013 was a day both full of joy and sorrow. A day my family would never forget. The day I had lost my grandfather, the matriarch of the family. A man who was loving, kind , humble and all the things a child and grandchild could ever ask for. That day was supposed to be fun and full of joy. A day I had spent not even knowing that the time with my grandfather was up, he was needed somewhere else. I knew he was leaving, just not then, not at a time when I needed him and his wise words. I was with him the whole day, but ignoring the warning of time, and poof, my life changed.

What is family? Businessman and former Ford president, Lee Iacocca once said, “The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family.” If you stripped away all the glitz and glamour of your life, what would be left? There is only one answer for me, family. Whenever life’s most challenging moments arise and you are brought to your knees, your family will be the rock on which you can stand. Family is everything to me and I would not be the man that I am today without the love and support that my family has unconditionally given to me.

Some people have grandparents, and others don’t. I am so incredibly blessed to be a part of my grandmother’s family. Unfortunately, I don’t get to see this loving person very often. She lives in Canada alongside the rest of my family. When I lived in Michigan my parents, brother and I owned a trailer in Canada that we would go to all of the time. In 2012 we moved to Ohio, so we had to sell the trailer. My grandma comes to visit us around three times a year, and we go down to see her on some holidays. I have grown to appreciate her more and more. I hear a lot of people say they love their grandparents, so I ask them, “Why?” I get many responses like, “They give me expensive presents!” or “They make really good food!” My grandma does this, too, but it’s so much more than that. She teaches me how to speak with love, encourages me to put in effort, and helps me realize that the little things matter.

 Every struggle in your life has shaped the person you are today be thankful for hard times; they only can make you stronger- unknown. I feel that this quote best goes with my grandmother because of all of the events that she had to overcome throughout her life have shaped her into the person she is today. My grandmother, Earline Joy, was born in 1937 and is still living a wonderful life. The event that affected her life include Civil Rights Movement, segregation, and 9-ll.

Family was a word that made me feel like an empty bag, drifty down the wind, not having a clue about . It was a word I heard a lot, my family this and my family that, people I was surrounded with had a family to be with but I didn't have no family here to even spend time with. Sometimes when I heard people talk about their family, I would day dream and imagine how my family was like, what did they like to do and go to family reunions, how many people were in my family, were there some in my family characteristics that I shared with them or were there others that were totally different from mine. I would think what was my mom and dad's side like, what was different about them. All these questions I had floated in my head and left me wondering out for years. Whenever people asked about my family, I would just want to blast off, miles away to my destination and meet them, then land back to the conversion and tell them about my family.

The make-up of my family was our parents, two boys and four girls, of which I was the youngest. It was a Christian based home, where my father was strict but, my mother was the nurturer in the family. In my eyes, my mother was awesome because she had such inner, spiritual and physical strength, and although both parents played a big part in our spiritual instruction, the memory of her example of faithful prayer and dependence on God’s strength, impacted me the most.

It seemed as if a war was happening right in the middle of our kitchen. Seeing the puddles of tears streaming down from my sister and I’s face was undoubtedly heartbreaking for my parents, but it was also heartbreaking for my sister and I to find out our parents were getting a divorce. Their screaming was loud and constant. I wish my walls were soundproof.

I grew up in a household slightly different from the average household. This abnormal household showed me that no matter the family unit someone can have a positive influence in their life that will push them to achieve their goals. We lived in Maryland so the cost of living was high my parents had to work multiple jobs. This means my brother and I really had little to none parental or supervision growing up. I am only four years younger than my brother so I would hang with his crowd of friends rather than mine. In my household, my mother’s niece, Monet lived with us she is about ten years older than my brother. When my brother and I would wake up and I would be the only person in the house. I can remember waking up and smelling the freshly cooked waffles and bacon downstairs. Monet was my mother’s brother, daughter. Monet became so close to my brother Avery and I she was almost as if she was our sister. I can remember growing up and she would always say, “You don't have to take the route I took, its many more exits on the highway.” Even though I was young I was not blind to the fact of Monet role in the community and her neighborhood job I never judged her, she did what she had to do to make ends meet. It was an experience every day, or anytime being with Monet. She was so popular around Maryland it was almost like everywhere we went we received respect love. Now that I look back at the past, I see that Monet has taught me a lot that I know and live by today. I could

I remember the day my grandmas passed away. Eleven years ago, I was seating with my grandma in the stair case of our house. She was telling me a poem called "el trencito de madera" which was my favorite story. If you had seen me You would know I would never leave her side. But everything went dark for me the moment I knew she was gone it was the hardest day but she will always have a place in my heart. It all began on a Tuesday morning. My grandma was known by many people in our neighborhood everybody used to think of her as a mom so we would go out with chairs and just sit in the front of the house just watching everyone pass by and wave. My grandma was one of the people who had to take medicine because she was sick and even some time we would have to take her to the hospital and stay overnight because of her illness. But that day she felt worse than any other time she had to take medication, but she didn’t tell no one because she hated the hospitals.

Families have played a crucial role in the formation of civilization since the beginning of time. Although the definition of what a family consists of has constantly changed and evolved, the main idea behind the raising and continuation of the human race has always been the primary goal. As different individuals and groups have risen to power- and fallen from it- there have been different political and economic shifts that have impacted the ideals behind family. Oftentimes, people would be highly impacted by such worldly changes and it would create personal problems leading to emigration as well as other hardships. Mills discusses the way that personal troubles are often contrasted with public issues even though they typically intertwine or relate in one way or another.

would hurt me so much seeing my friend’s dads be there for them while mine was nowhere around. The question of why was I not good enough popped up into my head multiple times. My mom would always tell me that it was my dad’s loss. He was missing out on my life.

There are many things in life that have shaped me into the person that I am today, but my family is easily the biggest influence on me. This is my story.

Losing a loved one is never easy. There will be pain and heartache. There will be Days where you do not want to get out of bed in the morning, and days where you just feel angry. I know when my family was struggling with the Loss of my baby brother, though he was just a few days old, it was unquestionably heartbreaking. Seeing my mom in the depressed state that she was in made me cling to her and I refused to leave her side for a long time after his passing. I know that I am not in your exact situation, and I will never fully understand, but I hope that I can provide at least some kind of comfort in this time of loss that you and your family are experiencing.

Everyone has someone in their life that makes you feel better when you're sad or cares about you eternally, no matter what. That is my family, specifically my Dad, my Mom and my brother Brian. Some people take their family for granted, but I know that without my parents I wouldn’t have a roof over my head or food on a plate or even clothes on my back. Without my brother, I might not have played any sports, my brother is the one who introduced all types of sports into my life and motivated me to do my best.

Family. That word means everything to me. My parents, both immigrants from India, were raised in relative poverty in their hometown of Bengaluru. They courageously made the decision to leave their own family behind for the sake of a better opportunity for themselves and their children. They sacrificed a lot when I was growing up, as they worked hard to establish their careers. Thankfully, my grandparents were there to help take care of me. Travelling back and forth from India, they would help around the house, cook meals, and even pick me up from school. Their presence played a huge role in my childhood. I was lucky enough to basically grow up with four parents, each of whom instilled in me values that I hold today: hard work, sacrifice, and altruism.