Every Saturday morning from a young age, I would visit my grandparents. The week seemed never ending, waiting for the moment I would wake up and go. I grew up very anxious, could almost never sleep, excited for what was to come the next day. Looking back, I wish I had known to take my time. To sleep that night, to enjoy the moment. To notice that being appreciative of what you have is important. Because moments don’t last forever.
When Saturday morning finally came around my parents would drop me off at my grandparent’s. They lived in the same street for 40 years. They knew every corner, every neighbor, every street dog.
During those mornings, right after we had eaten the fresh bread that my grandpa would pick up at the end of the street, we went out for a walk. Now that I am older and have learned many things, I realize it is healthy for an elder to go on a walk and move their body, but I like to think he did it because he wanted to spend time with me.
Down the other end of the street, there was a cheap store that sold almost anything someone could need. My grandpa never second guessed walking down every aisle they had, as I stared in awe at the notebooks displayed on the shelves, adorned with Elsa, Anna and Olaf.
A milkshake shop was next door. They had every flavor combination someone could imagine, but I never chose any besides the cotton candy milkshake. The flavor was incomparable to anything I had ever had before and part of my dreams during the week.
I don’t remember when was the last time I had that milkshake. All I remember is a blur and suddenly my grandpa was in the hospital, struggling to stay alive. I had never considered the possibility that he wouldn’t be in my life forever, and as a 9-year-old, it was the worst pain anyone could ever go through.
I had many friends at school but no one ever compared to him. No one pretended to have the same interests, made me laugh, or walked me to the milkshake store the way he did.
A couple of months following his passing, the milkshake store became a deli. And similar to how I never found a milkshake as good as that one, I never found a friend like the one my grandpa was to me.
