Grandpa - A Personal Memoir

“When did you join the service?” I asked my grandpa one day when we were playing checkers. “When I was seventeen years old, I really wanted to join, but my dad told me that I needed to finish school. I graduated, and on my eighteenth birthday, I registered.”

My grandfather was a very patriotic person. He loved America, and that’s why he was so willing to risk his life to fight for our country. I was really impressed that he was so eager to go to war at such a young age. He was only a few years older than I am now, and I can’t even imagine doing what he did. He was in the Marine Corps during World War II and he was a medic during the Korean War. I can still see him now sitting in his chair at the end of the kitchen table. He loved telling us about his experiences. I loved hearing his stories, they were intriguing. One of his favorite things to talk about was being overseas in Japan, where he was stationed. He talked about how kind all of the people were. I remember the way his eyes would light up when he told his stories. He always had the biggest smile.

After he got out of the service, he went into real estate. He really loved his years working in real estate. He loved people and socializing. His favorite thing about his job was getting to meet new people every day. Everyone he met instantly liked him. He could talk to anyone about anything.

My cousins, my brother and I have always loved going to my grandparents house. It was like a second home to us when we were growing up. I remember my aunt always offering us ice cream, and my Grandpa would smile and start chanting, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” Then, he would start laughing,  and we would just smile. I also remember my Nana always asking him if he had done his exercises for physical therapy. He would roll his eyes, and then rush through them. “One, two, ten, eleven, twelve…” We would all look at each other and pretend we didn’t notice him skipping numbers.

My grandfather is one of my greatest role models. He was the most humble, kind and caring man you could ever meet. I remember hearing my dad and my aunts and uncles telling him about the honor flight. He always said that it was a great thing to do for veterans, but never wanted to go on it. He didn’t feel the need to be honored for his service. We all wanted him to go on it, but he always said no. He was so humble about everything he did.

When I was in seventh grade, my grandfather passed away. We all went to my grandparents house for my aunt and cousin’s birthday party. He had been sick for a while, but that day he had been doing pretty well. About an hour before the party, he took a turn for the worse. We still went over for dinner, and I remember being really scared. It was awful to see him like that. When it was time for everyone to leave, my dad and all of his brothers decided to stay. I knew that wasn’t good.

“Bye Grandpa.”

All he could manage to do was wave and give a weak smile. I stopped before leaving the room and stared at him for a moment longer, knowing that could very well be the last time I saw him. I flashed back to seeing him sitting at the table drinking his coffee and eating his crackers. I could see him trying to make us all believe he had done his exercises. I could hear him saying “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream,” and then laughing. I could see him standing at the door waving goodbye as we left.

I went home, and I tried not to think about what was going on, because it was too sad. On the wall, right when you walk into my house, there’s a picture of my grandpa sitting with my brother and I on a bench when we were little. I looked at it, and tried to convince myself that everything would be okay. He had to be okay. What would we do without him? The next morning, my dad came into my room and was crying.

“Grandpa died last night.”

I was in shock. Even though I knew that was coming, I still didn’t believe it at first.

In life, we often don’t realize how much someone really means to us until they’re gone. You don’t miss someone, or appreciate them until they aren’t here anymore. After my grandpa passed away, I thought about the times I spent with him. When I would see him, I didn’t always hug him goodbye because I knew I was going to see him again soon. Why didn’t I spend more time with him? Why didn’t I ask him more questions when he was telling me stories? I wish I could hug him one more time. I wish I hear him laugh one more time. I wish I could see the way his eyes used to light up when he was telling his stories one more time. I should have appreciated him more. I’ve realized that maybe it isn’t necessarily that we don’t realize what we have, we just never thought we would lose it. We take things for granted, and we don’t appreciate them enough while they’re here.