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Now Is All You Have. What Will You Do With It?
I sat across the room from my grandfather, my mom’s dad. Mom had only been gone a few years, and now that I had my own car I could visit her parents whenever I wanted.
Grandpa Joe served in the Navy aboard the USS Caravan minesweeper. Grandpa picked up smoking and drinking in the Navy, and there were times when he did swear like a sailor. I already knew which words were off-limits and never would have tried any of those words my grandpa said out on my friends.
Even after Grandpa Joe stopped smoking (inside anyway), the smell always lingered, but the smell never bothered me. After he passed, I could still detect the smell in the old furniture, but it was, to me, a beautiful reminder of the relationship I had with him.
After his service in the Navy, Grandpa Joe worked tirelessly for his family. When I was young and my mom was sick, it was Grandpa Joe’s hard work that often provided a little extra for our family. As a kid I never knew that, and my grandparents on both sides were never looking for credit or praise for what they did.
They were really the best kind of grandparents a kid could ask for. They’re all gone now, and today I miss them more than usual.
Back to Grandpa Joe’s living room. He’d just pulled out a book of neatly scribed logarithm tables that he’d…
