My grandfather and I will always share the same birthday but starting this year, he’s going to celebrate in heaven. On 1-17-11 my grandpa passed away after about a month of sickness. On 1-25-11 he would have turned 88 and I will celebrate my 32 birthday.
Every year, no matter where either one of us were on our birthday, we would always have our customary phone call to talk about the year ahead. The custom started when he moved away from Connecticut (where I was raised) to Florida after he retired. Before that, we could usually find a way to celebrate together. One of my earliest birthday memories is of grandpa and me sharing a cake during the Super Bowl. It was probably my 5th or 6th birthday and January 25 fell on Super Bowl Sunday. I know Mom and Dad planned a great kid’s party for me like every year but I think we had to hold it the week after my birthday which did not sit well with me. So here we are at some grown up Super Bowl party and at half time they brought out some stupid super bowlish footballey cake. Booo! “That’s not a birthday cake,” I thought. Then, Grandpa emerged from the kitchen with a beautiful little cake, just big enough for the two of us and it said “Happy Birthday” in pink writing and it had these little carrots made out of frosting on the top. I didn’t know why there were carrots on it, but I was thrilled that there was a birthday cake in the room! Everyone sang Happy Birthday to us and Grandpa and I dug in to the magical orange tinted masterpiece called carrot cake. To this day – if you want to put a smile on my face – just mention carrot cake and I’m a happy camper.
I feel so blessed that I was able to have such close relationships with all of my grandparents – in my experience, they are amazing, wise and exceedingly generous people. I still have one left to treasure – my Grandma on my Dad’s side – and I intend to make the most of every bit of time that I get to spend with her. I shared this story because I wanted to remind myself and all of you that no matter what is going on in your life, at work or at home, remember to take time out to enjoy your family (whoever that term refers to in your life) because they are the ones who make it worth living.
Melissa Myrie (AYP – YMCA DC)
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