That Special Someone, Grandpa I have an abundance of grotesque, yet, barely visible memories of childhood. However, no breathtaking family trips, no unique family togetherness that taught a moral lesson, no abnormal holidays. We still ate family meals together, but most often the children and adults lived in different worlds. When I needed comforting or wanted the best of both worlds, I could turn to my Grandpa. I distinctly remember the weeknights at his house. Sitting upon his lap, walking down the street, getting pulled in my wagon through a park--these were things I loved doing with Grandpa. I was not just another person to him: I was the ultimate grandson, and I was special. “Grandpa was a giant of a man. He stood six …show more content…
He went to work when he was sixteen, and for the next forty years he worked in a coal factory. Then he worked in a steel mill for another twenty years. He stopped working only because the steel mill closed and he was too old to find another job. When I was with Grandpa, I could be a child and yet see things through grown-up eyes. "You see that tree, Bud," he would say. "That tree was here before those houses. Kundinger 2 God put that tree there, man put the houses. Which is more beautiful?" If I climbed a tree, he would not say, "Get down." He said, "Climb it right so you won't fall." "You appreciate what you work for," he used to say. He taught that lesson well. He never let me win any game, he taught me to win by learning to lose. If he couldn't answer a question, he was honest about it, but he would also say, "Why don't you find out and let me know too." He listened to me and he heard my feelings, not just my words. There was a tougher side to Grandpa, and I suppose this, too, made him unique with poise. He never would let rudeness from one who knew it was wrong. Young children may be blunt but those are kids. Adults showing rude, obscene things towards women were not allowed--in his presence. Grandpa is almost ninety-five and now resides in a nursing home. The leg he fractured forty years ago is too weak to carry his weight. His eyes are going bad. But to me he's still the big, strong man who used to take his grandchild in his arms and rock to
My grandpa is the best grandpa ever , he teaches me stuff and always cheers me up when I'm sad . He always helps me when I don't know what I'm doing and no matter what we are doing doesn't matter if it's working or not we always have fun together and I know I don't see him a lot but when I do I cherish the moments I have with him . That is why my grandpa is my Michigan hero
I still talk to you when I am troubled. You also make me laugh and are very fun to hug. Grandpa Gary, it is so fun talking about expensive watches and shoes with you. You are the only one in the family who likes that kind of stuff. It is also really fun to watch horse races with you and talk about life in general.
For me though, he was the best grandpa I could have asked for. He didn’t buy me gifts or come watch me in my dance shows, but he was the one person in this world who has ever made me feel as special as he did. My grandpa didn’t like most people. In fact, he had a very select number of people he enjoyed being around, and being one was a privilege. My dad always words it so well he says, “Pop Pop loves everyone in our family, but he only really likes a few of us.”
However, one character in my life was never ordinary; in fact, he was the exact definition of extraordinary. My “papaw” became my favorite playmate, my other half, and my best friend. We were commonly referred to as "two peas in a pod" and " each other's pride and joy." I loved my grandpa in the deepest, most sincere way a young child could. As I grew older, my grandpa assumed the role of my confidant and supporter. When my grandmother would scold me or when my sister and I would argue, I knew that I could retreat into the loving arms of my grandfather. The only thing that he ever did to upset me was when he said, "When I go, I'll miss everyone, but I'll miss you the most, Bug." Little did I know, I would soon long to hear these
When we think back to our childhoods, we generally remember our prominent memories. I remember sitting in a stroller in Walt Disney World with a Popsicle melting in my hand, and I remember the last time I visited my grandmother before she passed away. I also have insignificant memories. I remember one morning when I was around the age of six, I came downstairs with my hair in knots and a blanket still wrapped around my shoulders. I then crawled onto a tall chair at the kitchen counter and turned on the TV, as I did every morning. “Good morning, honey.” My mother said behind me.
Anyone that came in contact with him, could tell that was his biggest and most honorable trait. He knew when enough was enough, he knew when to leave the bar, and he also knew when his granddaughters wanted attention and affection from him. Growing up across the street from my grandpa, I was able to watch and observe him go through many stages of life. He was my biggest trainer of moderation, self-discipline, and love. He may not have always stopped when others thought he should and he may not have spent as much time with us as we thought we deserved, but he knew the right things to do for himself or other. I was so easily influenced as a child, that I was affected by the right and wrong things I would see happening. While my grandpa didn’t always do the right thing, he always showed me how it was wrong and what I could do to make it
When something goes wrong he knows just how to handle it, and he never, ever panics or gets mad over it. For example, one day when we were camping my aunt Allie and I went for a ride down the trail and I decided to take the razor. On our way to the top of the mountain there was this part of the trail that veered off on the side of a little hill so you could go a little bit horizontal to the ground when you drove on it. I decided to try and take that trail and eventually ended up rolling the razor. I was so scared that my grandpa was going to be mad, but when we got back to the trailer he simply laughed and asked if I was okay.
I never really knew my grandpa as well as I would have liked. He was already an old, old man by the time I started high school, and my own memories of him are mostly of a man confined by age and ailing health. So I'm not really going to talk about my memories of him. Instead, I'm going to try to share his memories and the memories of those that knew him.
I missed Grandpa. I could never tell how true his stories were. One of my favorites was the one when two of his boyhood friends were hunting in the back lakes of Michigan. It was spring and the ice was slowly melting from the lakes. Except along the shore line, the lakes were clear of ice.
What can last forever? Even though people get aged, humans need to love and cherish their time with their families because one day the family members will not be there anymore. My grandfather is constantly giving me things, Spending money like it grows on trees, and then ask who loves him. He is like a granddad in every way, but he is too ill to come downstairs and be with me. He notifies me that I am valuable, he tells me I Encompass, his whole world. But today, he is locked in his room. He used to spend time with us, but now he’s too tired See, like he almost isn’t here. It's as though that he's hiding from us, and we all have memories that talk to us inside of our heads. I remember my favorite items about him, but the real object has evanesce into the background now, like the rain on the roof. No matter what we look like or where we came from, we are all made of the same material--we all have hearts and minds,feelings and thoughts. Leo Tolstoy’s Russian folktale “The Grandfather and his Grandson” and Sandra Cisneros poem “Abuelito Who” have the same universal theme about the importance of grandchildren should constantly love and respect their grandparents.
He showed me that chivalry can be used in everyday activities, that it isn’t just found in courage and honor. It is also in keeping a door open for a woman. It is imbedded in paying for a woman’s check, helping your infant grandson up a flight of stairs, it is in the basic things we do that make us civilized human. I do believe that what he taught me on this matter made me into more of a gentleman, too. He was my role model who showed me how to treat others, and how to be a good man. I would never be where I was now without the almost fatherly affection he showed. He was always right next to me during our fishing trips to teach me something new. Along with this, he showed me my first real view of humor. Not of some obscure and strange youtube video that everybody laughs at because it has profanity and informal topics, I mean honest humor. Something that is rare today. He was also my best male role model, as I have no father in my household, and I would rather learn from a gentleman than my brother. I learned so much from him, and I only wish I could have known him for a longer period of time. But the most important life lesson he taught me was grit. He showed me the little part of every person that makes them say no to giving up, that makes them go through with a challenge even when it seems hopeless. He showed me that in any fight, you can never give up. He always told me to work my
One of my favorite parts about my granddad particularly was how he always had something inspiring to say to me every day to keep me going. Sometimes it feels like he’s still inspiring me today while in heaven. I believe I would be struggling more if I didn’t have him around when I was little. He was the only father that was there for me when needed most. I miss him all the time, but
For many people, Grandpa is a storyteller, someone to go fishing with, and someone who has your back no matter what. The experience I had with my grandpa was a little different. I never got the opportunity to meet my great-grandfather Liston Grider, but he still somehow managed to have a huge impact on my life. Sometimes my mom would tell stories about him; happy memories from her childhood, sad ones that were painful for her to tell, and everything in between. I thought I had heard it all, but this past summer I learned something about my great grandpa that would perhaps impact my life forever. This story was not told by my mom like usual, but by someone who was a complete stranger to me. The lessons I learned would not be taught in a single day, but over the span of a month through a series of Facebook messages and letters in the mail. The words I read upon opening those messages and letters would change my life forever, permanently transform my beliefs, and show me what it truly means to be an American.
Some of the many memories I carry with me every day of my grandmother are the holidays when we used to get together. I remember Thanksgiving and Easter most of all. On Thanksgiving the entire family would come together for dinner and then we would all stay at her house for the night. I remember this so well because we would wake up the next morning to the smell of breakfast and all the ladies would be gone shopping to the "After Thanksgiving Sale".
When we were together we were invincible, us against the world. I’d look up to him, not only because he was 6’4, but because he was my grandpa. I have clear memories of him picking me up from school, playing old school reggae music during our adventurous car rides. We’d always sing along to our favorites, sometimes turn the music up so loud the people in the cars next to us could hear it. When I would visit his apartment, the familiar smell of drywall and pennies would fill the air. It was my hideaway, my home away from home. My grandpa collected pennies in water jugs. He would say that one day they’d be worth more than just pennies. I loved it there, not only because he had a freezer filled with many flavors of ice cream to which he would often say to me “you can have all you can eat” but because it was our time to bond. For five years it was my mom, my dad, and my grandpa helping me to grow. Those are my favorite people, my role models. Being around my grandpa brought me such comfort and joy.