Narrative Essay About My Grandfather

1868 Words4 Pages

Throughout my childhood, I was under the assumption that my paternal grandfather would live forever. He never seemed to grow older; each passing year would deepen his smile lines, but I never saw these wrinkles as a sign of age. My grandfather was one of the happiest individuals I have ever known. He knew how to make everyone laugh and always provided a helping hand to those in need. My grandfather was a family man and made sure to put the needs of his loved ones before his own every day of his life. A few years ago my dad told me that my grandfather was battling aggressive leukemia. I thought that this diagnosis would come as a shock to my father, but instead I was surprised to learn that my parents had known for about ten years that …show more content…

Even though the bike ride was completed, there was still a grueling journey ahead on which my grandfather had to embark. I tried to be there for my grandfather as much as I could, but I did not get a chance to see my grandfather often; he lived in Florida with my grandmother and only came to New York around the holidays or during a major family event. I talked to him on the phone every Sunday, and it was during these phone calls that I got to share every event of my life with him. It was easy for me to push the thought of his cancer to the back of my mind since I did not see him as much. Even still, the weariness in his voice grew more persistent with each weekly phone call. Conversations that had once lasted forty five minutes were shortened to fifteen; my grandfather could barely utter a sentence without a deep cough erupting from his chest. It hurt me to know that he was trying to hide his pain. I did not know how to comfort him. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to be comforted. I think my grandfather wanted to forget about his cancer; he never mentioned how his treatments were going or how he was feeling. My grandfather continued to act as though his cancer wasn’t an issue. I know that he was trying to live the rest of his life as happily as possible. But the more everyone danced around the subject of grandpa’s illness, the more worried I became about losing …show more content…

Last summer my grandparents celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary by taking my brothers, parents, aunt, cousin and I to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware for a week. We were all excited to celebrate this milestone with my grandparents and go on vacation as a family. During the middle of the week, my father took my brothers and me to Assateague Island for the day to see the wild horses. I remember going back to the cottage and telling my grandfather about our day over dinner. He was extremely excited for me and voiced his desires to one day visit Assateague Island. Even though we had already been, my father and I woke up early the next day to take my grandfather and grandmother to Assateague Island for the day. My grandparents both insisted that we forget about the trip; they felt bad for making my dad drive back to the island when he had already been the previous day. Since my dad knew how much my grandfather wanted to see the horses, he spent an hour arguing with my grandfather about bringing him to the beach. After an hour of arguing over whether or not to go, we finally

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