I’m having a day where I really miss my grandparents.
My mom’s stepdad (her dad died when she was in high school), was the best. My grandma still tells me that I was his favorite (even though she had six kids and five of the six had at least two). He was fantastic. I have so many great memories of him and from the stories my parents and grandma tell, I missed a lot of even better ones before I was born.
When my grandpa died in 1999, I felt like my world was ripped apart. It was the first “real” death I had to deal with and for the longest time, I was terrified I would forget him. (Think Amy when Rory was pulled into the crack in “Cold Blood” in Doctor Who. That’s what I thought would happen.)
But I’m realizing now that I can still hear his voice and I still laugh at things he’d said and did. It hit me this morning when my mom mentioned him how much I miss him. (There was a notable night when I was little that a bat got in the house and I gave my grandpa my Elefun net to catch it.)
Then there’s my dad’s mom. His dad died when I was two, so I don’t really remember him. My grandma, though, was awesome. She’s the reason I love Disney. Every summer, I’d stay with her for a few days to a week and we’d use one day to go shopping, get lunch, and go see the new Disney movie. Then, when the movie came out, she’d buy it for me. Ninety percent of my VHS collection is from her. Christmas always started at her house. I’d sprint off the bus when I’d get home from school and see her car outside without knowing she was coming. I was her grandkid and, until my sister was born in 2000, I was her only grandkid.
She died in 2009 and it’s been weird ever since. I really, really miss her. I even had a dream about her the other night. I wish she and my grandpa could have met my boyfriend and seen my graduate. My grandpa never even saw me hit middle school.
Ugh. I just really miss them both.