One often forgets that there was a time when all our loved ones were seated around one table, talking about “one day when we’re…”

I remember way back when I was still small enough to sit on my grandfather’s lap, he would tell me stories about what it was like being a young man, growing up in the ancient times. I would sit as still as possible and just listen to his tired voice after a long day of work, because not only was my grandfather a good storyteller, but he was my hero in every possible way.

My grandfather was many things; he was a loving husband, a good father, an excellent grandfather, a construction worker, but most importantly, my grandfather was an awesome teacher. As I grew older, he would tell me stories from his experiences so that I wouldn’t make the same mistakes he did. He would teach me about my life choices, the friends that I’d encounter, my career choices, how to forgive and forget, but most importantly, how to treasure the ones I love. He taught me to build on my strengths and never to show my weaknesses, because “what the enemy doesn’t know, he can’t use against you,” he would say.

He pushed me to do my best in school so that I could have the opportunities he never had, and now that he’s gone, I continue to do my best, because not only did I have someone who believed in me, but someone who taught me how to believe in myself. For every “A” that I get, I light a candle for my grandfather, because I know he would have been proud and if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be who I am today, nor would I be doing what I’m doing.

One often forgets that there was a time when all our loved ones were seated around one table, talking about “one day when we’re older and wiser” but we forget that our loved ones won’t be around forever, and as my grandfather taught me to treasure my loved ones, I now treasure the ones I have left. I live every day to the fullest, and the thought of my loved ones that were picked like roses from earth’s garden, sometimes still hits me like a boomerang and then I remember…

As time changes, people do too, but the lessons I’ve learned from you, I will pass on from generation to generation, because once upon a time you were my star, my hero, my inspiration, but apart from that, you were my grandfather.

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