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http://fox59.com/2016/03/18/granddaughters-tweet-about-sad-papaw-is-breaking-the-internets-heart/
I think this was already posted on here since it happened last month but it really touched me when it came out. It didn't go down exactly the way we initially thought but it still made me think. This is kinda long so I apologize but I just want to say something.
My grandpa was a successful but very simple man. Was great at building and fixing things but wasn't much of a social person. If I needed help with my car or something went wrong with the house, he would drop whatever it was that he was doing and be there in 20 minutes to tackle whatever the job was. He was always happy to come help with whatever it was. I learned all I could from him when he would come by and help with things. After a while I didn't need his help anymore because I learned so much from him. I started to see him less and less.
After he started to get older, working on cars and doing big projects on the house became too hard on his body and he found himself inside watching TV more often than not. My mom told me that he seemed down and that I should see if he wanted to go to lunch. I didn't want to because I had things to do but she guilt tripped me into it. So I had him meet me at his favorite fast food joint and we hung out.
He was a very simple man who didn't have much to give as far as conversations went. He would ask the same small talk questions every time you'd see him and that was about it. It was very hard to get past that and talk about interesting things so naturally, it was kind of boring for me. A few days later my mom calls me and tells me that my grandma said he had a bounce in his step that he hadn't had in a while after we hung out. So I started going to lunch with him every other week or so. We would meet at the same place, eat the same food and talk about basically the same things. He seemed very happy.
When my grandma passed away I could tell he was down so I started meeting him there just about every week no matter what I had going on. Our conversations we're 90% the same as always but sometimes I'd hear really cool stories or he would have these random ass jokes that you'd never expect in a million years to come out of him. I met him there every week until he eventually got too sick to meet with me anymore and soon thereafter he passed away.
What I didn't know is that he secretly wrote me in his will. It wasn't a huge sum or anything but I was the only grandkid to get anything and naturally the other grandkids were pretty irritated. I heard things like I was only hanging out with him to try and get at his money and all that. The thing was that he would tell me about his will and all that and he told me from the very beginning that none of the grandkids were going to get anything and it was all going to go to my aunts and uncles. So I never expected anything from the beginning.
My cousins aren't bad people but they're unintentionally selfish. I was too, early on. Sadly it took my mom guilt tripping me to end that. They would only call him or talk to him when they needed something. They would only visit with him when they needed help. They didn't have the time to call him or hang out with him unless they wanted something. It's easy to take helpful people for granted. After his death I started reminiscing and I realized that he never asked me for anything. He never asked for money or help on anything. Never asked me to come over and mow his lawn because he was tired and 85 years old. Nothing.
The only thing he ever wanted from me was my time. That's it. Even something as simple as a phone call can light up their day. Just hearing your voice and letting them know that you're happy and doing well can be enough to keep them happy. At a certain point they stop living for themselves and start living vicariously through you. Call them, take them out to eat. You might find out things or hear stories that you'll never forget. But most importantly you'll give back to the people who have given so much to you.
I think this was already posted on here since it happened last month but it really touched me when it came out. It didn't go down exactly the way we initially thought but it still made me think. This is kinda long so I apologize but I just want to say something.
My grandpa was a successful but very simple man. Was great at building and fixing things but wasn't much of a social person. If I needed help with my car or something went wrong with the house, he would drop whatever it was that he was doing and be there in 20 minutes to tackle whatever the job was. He was always happy to come help with whatever it was. I learned all I could from him when he would come by and help with things. After a while I didn't need his help anymore because I learned so much from him. I started to see him less and less.
After he started to get older, working on cars and doing big projects on the house became too hard on his body and he found himself inside watching TV more often than not. My mom told me that he seemed down and that I should see if he wanted to go to lunch. I didn't want to because I had things to do but she guilt tripped me into it. So I had him meet me at his favorite fast food joint and we hung out.
He was a very simple man who didn't have much to give as far as conversations went. He would ask the same small talk questions every time you'd see him and that was about it. It was very hard to get past that and talk about interesting things so naturally, it was kind of boring for me. A few days later my mom calls me and tells me that my grandma said he had a bounce in his step that he hadn't had in a while after we hung out. So I started going to lunch with him every other week or so. We would meet at the same place, eat the same food and talk about basically the same things. He seemed very happy.
When my grandma passed away I could tell he was down so I started meeting him there just about every week no matter what I had going on. Our conversations we're 90% the same as always but sometimes I'd hear really cool stories or he would have these random ass jokes that you'd never expect in a million years to come out of him. I met him there every week until he eventually got too sick to meet with me anymore and soon thereafter he passed away.
What I didn't know is that he secretly wrote me in his will. It wasn't a huge sum or anything but I was the only grandkid to get anything and naturally the other grandkids were pretty irritated. I heard things like I was only hanging out with him to try and get at his money and all that. The thing was that he would tell me about his will and all that and he told me from the very beginning that none of the grandkids were going to get anything and it was all going to go to my aunts and uncles. So I never expected anything from the beginning.
My cousins aren't bad people but they're unintentionally selfish. I was too, early on. Sadly it took my mom guilt tripping me to end that. They would only call him or talk to him when they needed something. They would only visit with him when they needed help. They didn't have the time to call him or hang out with him unless they wanted something. It's easy to take helpful people for granted. After his death I started reminiscing and I realized that he never asked me for anything. He never asked for money or help on anything. Never asked me to come over and mow his lawn because he was tired and 85 years old. Nothing.
The only thing he ever wanted from me was my time. That's it. Even something as simple as a phone call can light up their day. Just hearing your voice and letting them know that you're happy and doing well can be enough to keep them happy. At a certain point they stop living for themselves and start living vicariously through you. Call them, take them out to eat. You might find out things or hear stories that you'll never forget. But most importantly you'll give back to the people who have given so much to you.
