By Suzie Carr
@girl_novelist
This past weekend, I
flew to my hometown and had the pleasure of visiting with my ninety-five year
old grandfather. I took him for lunch at his favorite local restaurant where
they serve up French Meat Pie and mashed potatoes. This treat delighted him,
but not as much as when I asked him to tell me about some of his favorite
things in life.
This question
created a two hour conversation where my grandfather transformed from a feeble
old man to a lively young man telling his tale and reliving those special
moments in his life that brought him the most joy. He told me all sorts of
interesting facts I never knew about him, and I didn’t know them because I
never took the time to ask.
This man lived his
whole life stockpiling tons of valuable knowledge and funny memories, the kind
of stuff that could fill hundreds of pages of a memoir. His face lit up as he recounted
his first sight of an airplane, his first drive in a car, and his first time
watching television in color. He spoke fast and animated, anxious to tell me as
much as possible in the time we spent together. He laughed and joked about his
first date with my grandmother, about their wedding day, about the time his
older brother took him fishing, and about the reason he goes by three different
names (no one could pronounce is real name, Aurele, so they called him Johnny
and Joseph instead).
My grandfather has
always been my role model. He is the epitome of a great man, a loving man, a
generous and humble man. He believes in hard work and perseverance. He believes
in dreams and in laughter. He is genuine and tactful. And most of all, he is a
forgiving man who has learned to move forward despite hardships that would
crush most people I know. I aspire to live my life as happily and grateful as
my grandfather.
My grandfather’s health
is failing, but his spirit is not. I do feel blessed that I was given this
special moment with him.
Before it’s too
late, reach out to those special people in your life. Take them out for coffee
and ask them about their life, their dreams, and their favorite memories. They
are filled with stories and are just bubbling over with desire to tell them to
someone who really wants to hear them.
Hoping you’re
equally as blessed,
Suzie
I feel it's critical to support the community,
and so I've committed to donate a portion of my book sale proceeds to Chely
Wright's LikeMe foundation (http://likeme.org/)
to help provide support, resources and education to LGBT individuals, and their
families and friends.
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