Spending time with your grandparents and listening to their stories from when they were younger or playing board games with them can be the most cherish-able memories of your childhood. Getting to go over to Grammie and Pappy's house was always exciting because you knew that it was going to be fun. They were always around to watch you reach every milestone: your first steps, preschool, and possibly going to high school. You hoped, and expected, that they would be there to watch you graduate high school and college and even get married, but sometimes, life throws you curveballs and things turn out differently.

As you got older, as did they, it got harder for them to get around and do things. Instead of going over to their house, you were now making frequent trips to the hospital or nursing home. You saw a different side of them and life. You had to learn at a young age that it is a part of life to grow old and have challenges put in front of you. You might have become familiar with the environment that they were now in, a depressing and lonely room. Your heart ached for them having to be in pain and not to be able to do the things they used to be able to. But what is even harder, is watching them slowly die. Being so young, you still do not fully understand what is happening and why it is happening. Never having to go through this situation before, you do not know what to expect. Are they really going to go away forever? You would constantly question whether they were going to get better and why did God let this happen. Death is a hard concept to grasp especially while being so young. And then, the day that you had forever wished would never come had come.

At the funeral, you see your parents and family crying, but you do not fully understand why because you believed that in the end everything was going to be okay. Days later, it will hit you like a brick wall. They are actually gone. You cannot call them or go visit them anymore. You begin to feel empty because the person that was always there for you is not here anymore. They will never see you graduate or fulfill your dreams. You begin to miss everything about them. You repeatedly replay the memories you shared because that is all you have left of them. You start to regret that you did not hug them a little longer and a little tighter. You wish that you said “I love you” more. There are so many more talks and experiences that you wanted to share with them, but now you are unable to. You try to hold on to what their voice sounded like and what their warm hugs felt like for as long as you can, but as you get older their voice and touch fade away. Every day you think of them more and more, wondering if they are looking down on you and are proud of who you have become.

Losing your grandparents at a young age is one of the hardest obstacles to overcome, but remembering the good memories will help you through the times you miss them. Throughout life, we will find things that will remind us of our loved ones and the good times that we shared: butterflies, turkeys, red robins and a Wendy’s vanilla frosty. Although they may not physically be here, they will forever be in your heart.