My Grandfather

For Christmas I was given a book of letters from my Grandfather to his family while he was in service during WWII. This was a special treat for me for two reasons. One, I love history. Two, I have always felt this connection to my Grandfather. He died when my father was two from a heart attack. When I was a little girl I used to imagine having conversations with him. Once, I was writing a paper about my Grandpa (who is happily still living) and I suddenly felt very sad that I never got to meet my Grandfather. I was sad because I never got to hear him say that he loved me. But then I had this overwhelming feeling that he loves me so much. And ever since we moved to my Grandfather’s hometown … my place of peace and meditation has been his gravestone … which may sound morbid but it isn’t at all. I go and sit by him and tell him all of my concerns and joys. For instance, when I broke up with Seanzie, I went and cried at his grave until it was dark and my father came and found me. My point is I love the man. The truth is I don’t actually know him very well. These letters were so exciting for me. And now I just want to know more. I want to know everything to his favorite food, first kiss, sense of humor, favorite scripture character, his temper, his laugh … And now I am kicking myself for not asking my Grandmother more questions about him before she died. I really only knew that he was an entomologist/teacher/ rock collector/ basketball player. Now, I know a few more things from the letters. I only have two stories about him. The one where he asked my grandmother to the dance and she thought he was just asking if she thought it would be fun to go in general. So when he came to pick her up she was not even close to being ready. And then I remember Grandmother told me the story of when he proposed she told him he had to look at her feet first … she felt self-conscious about her flat feet. Of course, he still wanted her. : ) I just really wish I knew more. I’m not a big family history person but for some reason Grandfather has always intrigued me. I want to know his successes and mistakes and really just everything. I love the man so much.

Advertisement

1 Comment(s)

Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI