We have all heard that love hurts. With love comes pain, with beginnings come ends, and with life comes death. Sometimes the pain isn't that severe, the ends that abrupt, or death that sudden. Yet, it is sometimes hard to look at it any other way. Everything suddenly comes to an abrupt stop.
Yesterday, my life came to a halt upon finding out my grandpa passed away. Even though we all knew he hadn't been doing well for a coulple of weeks, it doesn't make the pain any less severe for us. We all knew his time would come soon enough, but I guess it was just weird to think of Houdini running out of magic tricks.
At least I was fortunate enough to visit him a week and a half ago..that was very important. Even with him not being able to talk, we knew he appreciated us coming to visit. I also feel very blessed that I was able to interview him at the end of last year in order to write a story for my feature writing class last semester. It wasn't just a biography about him, either. It described his struggles over the last ten years and how he has overcome them with the help of my grandma (the story is posted here on my blog).
Life unfolds in very weird ways. This Friday, we will be attending his funeral--celebrating past life. On this same day, my friend will be getting married--celebrating new life. The world keeps on turning.
Below is a statement I wrote about him that I plan on bringing with me to the viewing/funeral, as suggested by my mom:
I won’t ever forget spending hours on the phone with Papa late last year, talking about his health struggles over the past ten years. I interviewed him and Nana for a drama story required in my Feature Writing class. His ability to overcome these obstacles—-heart attacks, congestive heart failure, amputations, and other complications—-was not what amazed me the most; it was his outlook on life, his strong will to live. Always a fighter, he simply chose to live life.
One quote from my paper perfectly sums up his attitude about finding strength to wake up each and every day, despite all hope seemingly gone: “I’m not going to waste away my life!” And he made sure he didn’t.
He has provided an example for all of us to follow: to live life to the fullest, love with all of your heart, and most importantly, never give up.
After all, he reminded doctors that he wasn’t one to give up that easily. When told that his second prosthesis would make it hard for him to walk, he simply replied:
"I think I’m going to try anyway.”
One quote from my paper perfectly sums up his attitude about finding strength to wake up each and every day, despite all hope seemingly gone: “I’m not going to waste away my life!” And he made sure he didn’t.
He has provided an example for all of us to follow: to live life to the fullest, love with all of your heart, and most importantly, never give up.
After all, he reminded doctors that he wasn’t one to give up that easily. When told that his second prosthesis would make it hard for him to walk, he simply replied:
"I think I’m going to try anyway.”
R.I.P. Papa <3
No comments:
Post a Comment