Thank You Grandpa

Ever since I was young, I have always had a special relationship with my grandpa. He taught me that chocolate chip cookies always taste better with Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. He taught me how to win at the game Yahtzee. He taught me how to correctly jump over the waves on Lake Michigan. My grandpa, he was the best kind of teacher. Each and every day, he lived his life to the fullest and without any regrets. He made the best of every situation and there was never a dull moment in his life. He was the most influential and knowledgeable person I have ever met.

When I was 12, my grandpa passed away from cancer. I can still remember hearing the phone ring and feeling a pit of desolate sadness form in my chest. Even when he was living with cancer, my grandpa never looked on the downside of things. There was a time when I was about two years old that we decided to go sledding. After looking in the garage for our old wooden toboggan, it was nowhere to be found. Instead of going back inside, my grandpa, being the positive and imaginative person he was, plopped me in a huge shovel and pushed me around the sidewalk (in replacement of the sled). It was his positive outlook on life and his random acts of kindness that still inspire me today.

I guess you could say that my grandpa was the best teacher I have ever had. He has taught me years and years of life lessons. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think or hear his voice in my head. Sometimes I can hear him whispering to me, encouraging and commending my everyday choices. Just thinking about all of the good that he did to people in his life inspires me to do better. I can honestly say, from the bottom of my heart, that I would not be the person I am today without the help from my grandpa. I have learned that marshmallows roast best in the smoke of a fire pit and that Harbor Springs, Michigan is the best place to watch the 4th of July fireworks. Not only that, but I have learned to put others before myself. I have learned to make the best of every situation and look on the bright side of life.

I know I can speak for myself and my family when I say that my grandpa was, and still is, one of the most influential and positive people that I have ever met. Each day I strive to be better and more like him.

So dear grandpa, if you’re reading this, please just know how much I appreciate and look up to you. Thanks for being such an amazing blessing to my life.