Assignment 22 - Grace Payne

Something that I believe has had a large impact on my life is my grandparents, on my mom's side and my dad's side. On my dad's side, my grandparents divorced before I was born, but they were both still large parts of my life. However, my grandpa passed away when I was about 7, on Easter. That moment changed me. Every time I saw my grandpa, he would give me a $1, a chocolate candy, and when he had it, a bite of his chocolate cake from Frisch's when he had it. I was young, but I can't help but feel like I took my grandpa for granted. I've never had a great memory, and now it feels like as each year passes I'm remembering my grandpa less and less. There are some memories I will always hold on to, but each year they get fuzzier. As I've come to that realization, I've learned to treasure the memories of those around me, because they may not be there forever.
On my mom's side, it's yet another sad story. My grandpa (we refer to him as Bob) was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease when I was young. He's still here with us today, but he's not even remotely the same person he was before the diagnosis. Each year I've had to watch him get progressively worse and worse. His mental filter has slowly disintegrated, and now he says things that could hurt people without even realizing he's done it. In recent years, his memory has started to fade as well, and there are days where he doesn't even remember where he is or who he is with. Watching Bob slowly start to lose himself hasn't been easy for me and my family, and it's yet another reminder to treasure the memories of the people you're with. I have little to no memory of Bob before he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and that's something that's been sad for me.
These stories are sad, but they're more than just sad stories. They've made me really cherish all the memories that I've had and all the memories that I'm making with my friends and family.