Somewhere I once heard "Parents have to say no, grandparents get to say yes" and that always seems to be the case. My grandparents on mom's side both died over a decade ago. Grandpa had a stroke before I was born, stuck in a nursing home. We'd visit him often with grandma. They were both poor but they'd do anything for us. Even something so simple as having Nutty Bars, which cost like a buck for a box of, always on hand. It's the simple things. I know I made grandma cry once when I was being a piece of shit and I'll never get to say sorry for that. But being older and wiser now they're missed a lot.

On dad's side grandma died just a few years ago. Parkinson's took her pretty quick. Dad's side was more well-to-do and grandma made it a point to spoil us when we were around. I wouldn't eat apple pie so she'd always make me my own pinwheels so I could have a treat. When working on building their master bedroom with grandpa she'd always have lunch waiting for us. We finished the bedroom a week before she died so she could at least see it. Grandpa used to be a hard, mean old man, much more so before I was around, but even as a kid I remember him cussing me out for walking through the mud in the backyard. He's still around, the last of my grandparents but Alzheimer's is taking him. Even now he's a shell of his former self, but luckily I was able to learn from him before he lost all he knew. No one knows how to do shit better than an old guy, they're crafty bastards lol. He did warm up as I grew up, eventually working side by side quite often we grew quite close. He became much more generous and kind, I learned a ton and he became my favorite person in the world. Though it makes it harder to see him struggle now, knowing how sharp he was not long ago.

weareallclowns

Denmark113 Posts

September 26 2011 18:16 GMT

#205

Hehe.. this makes me regret that I didn't spend more time with ma grandpa.

AndyGB4

Canada156 Posts

September 26 2011 18:32 GMT

#206

Wow, such a touching story...

On September 19 2011 10:00 Rekrul wrote:
One day I finally grew the courage to ask him a question "Grampa why don't you talk much?" he replied "Successful people don't talk much. They listen and take action."

And such wise words.

RIP

Klogon

MURICA15980 Posts

September 26 2011 18:55 GMT

#207

So what'd you do with them goblins?

idkju

Canada51 Posts

September 26 2011 19:06 GMT

#208

That is true love and i wish you and your family well, i almost teared up and i did have some chills down my spine reading that. My compassionate condolences to your family and you for the loss of a great man in your life. People appreciate EVERYONE in your family if you know whats good for you because when they're gone you will never forget them.

Emperor_Earth

United States824 Posts

September 26 2011 19:10 GMT

#209

On September 26 2011 22:06 Liquid`Drone wrote:
I speak so little that I didn't even respond to this post

18262 says differently. haha

MurMiLLo

United States260 Posts

September 26 2011 19:30 GMT

#210

RIP story was amazing

FluidKMC

United States45 Posts

September 26 2011 20:48 GMT

#211

Excellent blog. Thank you so much for sharing Rekrul.

RIP

wherebugsgo

Japan10647 Posts

September 26 2011 20:56 GMT

#212

Yo Rekrul do you live in MI?

Just curious cause I only know Michiganders who say "we went up north"

codonbyte

United States840 Posts

September 26 2011 21:28 GMT

#213

That was a touching story. Being a grandparent must be fun. You get to spoil your grandkids and let your kids be the "bad guys" who deal out the discipline. When I was like 8 my parents had me on this extremely strict diet (no wheat, no yeast, no peanuts, no sugar, no food-coloring, no mint, no apples, no grapefruits, no grapes, no milk, no eggs, did I mention no sugar?). So anyway, I wasn't allowed to eat anything good, and it sucked. And at my grandparents house, there were always sweets galore that my cousin always got to eat, and we had dessert after every dinner. But every now and then, I'd be walking through the yard below the deck, and a bite-sized snickers bar or two would come falling down, and my Grandfather would wink at me. My folks had told him not to give me anything that tasted halfway decent, but hey, what are grandparents for, right?
He knew I wouldn't get myself caught (I was a rather "lively" child, and was frequently at odds with the rules).

But yeah, its the "little" moments like this that make me really hope that my own kids will get to meet their grandparents. My parents were both 40 when they had me, though, and I plan to wait about that long before having kids ("don't rush it" they always say), so I guess it could be cutting it close.

Raidern

Brazil3821 Posts

September 26 2011 22:38 GMT

#214

good read

saritenite

Singapore1680 Posts

September 26 2011 22:56 GMT

#215

Wish I knew either of my Grampses as well as you did. By the time I was 8 one passed on and the other was in bed permanently because of stroke.

Awesome words.

Crackensan

United States479 Posts

September 26 2011 23:24 GMT

#216

You granddad sounds like a baller and a true badass. May he rest in peace, and reside along the other badasses in heaven.