In the beginning of life, when we are born, everyone cries for us, whether it is of joy or unexplainable emotions, it is for the newest life that has been added to their family. We evolve and grow. We become members of society. We become pivotal roles in other peoples lives. Sometimes we create new lives and continue the cycle. But at the end of the cycle, what do we have to look back on? We will never know what happens in the end. We can only hope what will be out there when we experience it, what we will remember of the life we once had. Most people wonder if everything they have done was worth it. What was the point of their life? Did it have meaning?
One thing I can say, I know that the life of my grandfather had meaning, for me, for my mother and father, for my brother and sister, and everyone else who had the chance to be involved in his life. I have been foolish and selfish, I can admit. I have waste opportunities in which I could have experienced the wisdom of my grandfather. I have missed so many chances. I have regret. There are so many things I would have loved to know more about. I would have loved to know about his time serving this wonderful country that we are in right know. I would have thanked him for doing it. For fighting in the Philippines. For saving us from what could have happened. For stopping the spread of communism. For being a brave soldier, risking his life so I could be in this place today. I am so very grateful. I wish I would have said it.
I wish I could have asked how he was so smart. He was unbelievably intelligent, no one can deny. He knew about everything and could speak about it in a manor that comes natural. He held a wisdom that most people never achieve. I only hope one day I can be like this, like him. I hope I can have half the wisdom he had.
I wish I would have asked him how to make meatballs the way he did. They were the best I have ever had and though I have not had them in about ten years, I can still remember the way they tasted. I remember being at his house when I was younger and making them with him from scratch. I wish I could remember the recipe. I will never be to eat them again but I will never forget. I appreciate the memory, all of the memories, like going out on his boat on the lake and fishing.
I remember always being obsessed with the fish he had caught that were hanging in his back room. I remember going food shopping with him and buying birdseed to put in the bird feeder on the front lawn. I remember making the sugar water for the humming birds to hang in front of the house. I can still see them as clear as day. The humming bird is so beautiful and I saw that up close because of him.
I never had the chance to say good-bye. I was never able to thank him for being a part of my life. So this is my good bye, my farewell, my thank you for everything that you have inspired in me, my passion for history, the appreciation for nature, learning how to be a good person. I know that you are in a better place with all the people who mattered to you. I know you are watching over us now and we will always be thinking of you.