Life's little questions...
So I forgot to post something I wanted to share last week...
Last Wednesday I decided to take lunch to my grandfather at his house and eat with him. He's 83, and the one that I almost lost about a month ago. I think I had really taken for granted having him around, so I want to be sure that from now on he knows how much he means to me, and I want to spend as much time with him as possible. Anywho, I went to his favorite bbq place, Southern Style, and got some sandwiches and headed to his house. He was truely thrilled that I came. I got there around 11:45, we ate, and then I ended up sitting there listening to him talk until around 1pm. He LOVES to talk, and doesn't even care that that's literally what it is, me listening to him talk. No real conversating going on, just letting him tell stories. He's lived alone now since my grandmother died in 95. But my mom and aunt both call him every night, and we visit him every Saturday, so he isnt even as lonely as most people his age. He has a great family that takes care of him. My point is that when I was listening to him tell me about how he got bit by a black widow spider and nearly died somewhere between '49-55, and about how he got strep throat while he was in the army based in New Orleans one year, and about the general store he and my grandmother had maybe 60 years ago, and about the log house he and his father built on their farm when he was young that he says is still standing and lived in, and about the cargo train he drove during ww2 overseas, I realized how boring life is today. It actually made me SAD that the world is like it is. I wish I could experience life like he did....where you really WORK for your keep and don't stare at computers or tv's all day. He didn't even tell me a fraction of the experiences he has had. I wish he could write a book so I could have a memoir of his life to keep with me forever, because I know someday he is going to die before I get a chance to truely even know him. I honestly admire him and the life he's lead. I can't wait to take lunch to him again, and hopefully hear some new stories. (Unfortunately he often tells the same stories over again, and I never tell him I've heard it). I didn't have the chance to learn more about my dad's father before he died a year and a half ago. It was after his death that I really learned anything about him at all. Of course, he lived in Falkville, and we didn't visit him near as much as I visit my papaw, but it still made me sad. I definitely encourage any one who still has living grandparents to spend time with them....they truely know what it's like to live, and I fear that even when I'm 83, I won't have anything near as interesting to tell my grandchildren. For now, I just do what I can to make him proud and make sure he knows I'm happy he's in my life.
That definitely turned out to be more than I intended to say, but I think that day will go down in my book as a lasting memory.
Meanwhile....college is going..okay. I just came out of another period of resentment, where I just swear I want to quit college. I worry that this is NOT what I'm meant to be doing with my life and sometimes I just feel out of place. I think a lot of that was caused by our teachers getting ahead of themselves and making me afraid of not being prepared for this semester. But as of today, I'm alright. I'm still not overly excited about it all, but after meeting a senior in the program today in lab, I gained some confidence. He is graduating in December, and seemed to know soo much about x-ray and made me feel that I will be okay. Mostly because he said he almost failed during the first semester, and is now teaching labs to the first year students. He answered a lot of questions for us, and I left today with a better feeling about it all. It's just going to take a lot of studying and concentration, but I think I can do it.
My incisions from my wisdom teeth STILL hurt. Stitches are starting to come out now though.....eeewwwwww
Last Wednesday I decided to take lunch to my grandfather at his house and eat with him. He's 83, and the one that I almost lost about a month ago. I think I had really taken for granted having him around, so I want to be sure that from now on he knows how much he means to me, and I want to spend as much time with him as possible. Anywho, I went to his favorite bbq place, Southern Style, and got some sandwiches and headed to his house. He was truely thrilled that I came. I got there around 11:45, we ate, and then I ended up sitting there listening to him talk until around 1pm. He LOVES to talk, and doesn't even care that that's literally what it is, me listening to him talk. No real conversating going on, just letting him tell stories. He's lived alone now since my grandmother died in 95. But my mom and aunt both call him every night, and we visit him every Saturday, so he isnt even as lonely as most people his age. He has a great family that takes care of him. My point is that when I was listening to him tell me about how he got bit by a black widow spider and nearly died somewhere between '49-55, and about how he got strep throat while he was in the army based in New Orleans one year, and about the general store he and my grandmother had maybe 60 years ago, and about the log house he and his father built on their farm when he was young that he says is still standing and lived in, and about the cargo train he drove during ww2 overseas, I realized how boring life is today. It actually made me SAD that the world is like it is. I wish I could experience life like he did....where you really WORK for your keep and don't stare at computers or tv's all day. He didn't even tell me a fraction of the experiences he has had. I wish he could write a book so I could have a memoir of his life to keep with me forever, because I know someday he is going to die before I get a chance to truely even know him. I honestly admire him and the life he's lead. I can't wait to take lunch to him again, and hopefully hear some new stories. (Unfortunately he often tells the same stories over again, and I never tell him I've heard it). I didn't have the chance to learn more about my dad's father before he died a year and a half ago. It was after his death that I really learned anything about him at all. Of course, he lived in Falkville, and we didn't visit him near as much as I visit my papaw, but it still made me sad. I definitely encourage any one who still has living grandparents to spend time with them....they truely know what it's like to live, and I fear that even when I'm 83, I won't have anything near as interesting to tell my grandchildren. For now, I just do what I can to make him proud and make sure he knows I'm happy he's in my life.
That definitely turned out to be more than I intended to say, but I think that day will go down in my book as a lasting memory.
Meanwhile....college is going..okay. I just came out of another period of resentment, where I just swear I want to quit college. I worry that this is NOT what I'm meant to be doing with my life and sometimes I just feel out of place. I think a lot of that was caused by our teachers getting ahead of themselves and making me afraid of not being prepared for this semester. But as of today, I'm alright. I'm still not overly excited about it all, but after meeting a senior in the program today in lab, I gained some confidence. He is graduating in December, and seemed to know soo much about x-ray and made me feel that I will be okay. Mostly because he said he almost failed during the first semester, and is now teaching labs to the first year students. He answered a lot of questions for us, and I left today with a better feeling about it all. It's just going to take a lot of studying and concentration, but I think I can do it.
My incisions from my wisdom teeth STILL hurt. Stitches are starting to come out now though.....eeewwwwww