A lot has happened since this date a year ago. I started college, gained friends, lost friends, and had some of the best times of my life. But i've also had some of the worst. If you know me fairly well then you know that in the last 365 days my family's had to go through more than we were honestly prepared for. If you would've asked me on the night of March 10th, 2014 if I would wake up the next day to my mom telling me that my grandparent's house had burned, I would've stared at you like you were an idiot. In fact, I tweeted "I think a trip to see my grandparents in PCB is due soon." at 3 that afternoon. But, I guess God had different plans. I woke up to tragic news and was in Atlanta that afternoon sitting in a waiting room with the rest of my shell shocked family. No one knew what to say. No one could say anything. That morning we lost a member of our family that was so very precious and a long, hard month later we ended up losing my grandfather as well. It was a lot and it was hard.
But in the 365 days that have followed, I've learned more than I ever have and grown from what has happened. I am blessed. Life sucks sometimes, but I've got more blessings than I could ever imagine. I've got a happy and healthy family that loves me. My grandmother is still here and even though it's been a long year, she's done so much better than what was initially expected. I've also learned to cherish what I still have in my life. If I could've done my life differently, I would've actually gone and visited or even just called instead of tweeting about it. You never ever know what you have until it's gone. I've made sure that my loved ones know how much I care about them more now than my "busy" mind would let me prior to that. Most importantly, i've learned to cherish each day. We're not promised the next one. A house could burn or a car could crash. And as morbid as that sounds, it's the truth. You never know when you're never going to hear someone's voice again. You never know when the last time you roll your eyes at someone asking if you've been "swimming with bow legged women" is going to be. Cherish it. Laugh a little louder and cry when you need to. Live life to the fullest and do everything big. Make sure that the people who matter to you know it.
And with all of that said, I want to say that I'm proud of who I am. I'm proud to be the granddaughter of a man who went above and beyond anything that he had to do. I pray daily that I find someone that is even a quarter of the man that he didn't ever have to be. He was selfless and loved everyone that he met deeply. He never met a stranger and would give someone the clothes off of his back if he could. I'm proud to share his last name and I miss him every single day. Life's hard, but every time I catch a western while i'm channel surfing or catch a ray of sun coming through the window on a hard day, I know i'm not alone.
We all miss you PawPaw and Teddy, but I am so thankful for the lives that you lived. You both helped teach me how to love others. You made me smile a little bigger and laugh a little harder. Thank you.
But in the 365 days that have followed, I've learned more than I ever have and grown from what has happened. I am blessed. Life sucks sometimes, but I've got more blessings than I could ever imagine. I've got a happy and healthy family that loves me. My grandmother is still here and even though it's been a long year, she's done so much better than what was initially expected. I've also learned to cherish what I still have in my life. If I could've done my life differently, I would've actually gone and visited or even just called instead of tweeting about it. You never ever know what you have until it's gone. I've made sure that my loved ones know how much I care about them more now than my "busy" mind would let me prior to that. Most importantly, i've learned to cherish each day. We're not promised the next one. A house could burn or a car could crash. And as morbid as that sounds, it's the truth. You never know when you're never going to hear someone's voice again. You never know when the last time you roll your eyes at someone asking if you've been "swimming with bow legged women" is going to be. Cherish it. Laugh a little louder and cry when you need to. Live life to the fullest and do everything big. Make sure that the people who matter to you know it.
And with all of that said, I want to say that I'm proud of who I am. I'm proud to be the granddaughter of a man who went above and beyond anything that he had to do. I pray daily that I find someone that is even a quarter of the man that he didn't ever have to be. He was selfless and loved everyone that he met deeply. He never met a stranger and would give someone the clothes off of his back if he could. I'm proud to share his last name and I miss him every single day. Life's hard, but every time I catch a western while i'm channel surfing or catch a ray of sun coming through the window on a hard day, I know i'm not alone.
We all miss you PawPaw and Teddy, but I am so thankful for the lives that you lived. You both helped teach me how to love others. You made me smile a little bigger and laugh a little harder. Thank you.
