As a young child, I was not the most talkative person. One cool morning, my Grandpa and I got up just a little bit earlier, around 7:00 am, to head to the Barista, our favorite coffee place, as always. We opened the door and walked in just to get hit with a powerful blast of heat from inside. Just what I needed after biking in the sharp cool winds. Waiting in line, I started to think about what I want. I started rehearsing my order, getting ready as each person in front of us completed their order. Without hesitation, I turned to my Grandpa, and I noticed his beard running down his neck. I noticed the white and grey hairs, but I never mentioned it to him. It’s been grey and white my whole life. Right before it was our turn to order, I stood on my tippy toes, still looking at him with the biggest puppy eyes and baby face known to man, and tapped his shoulder to say, “Can you plleaaasseeeee order for me, Grandpa?” It took him just a second to respond while taking out his smooth, leather, brown wallet before saying, “ Only for my favorite granddaughter that lives in Portland.” Even though he said that, I knew that I was his favorite; he couldn’t hide it well. With some of my cousins on the West Coast in Cannon Beach, and the rest of my cousins in San-Fransico, he spent all of his time with me, so there was no second-guessing who his favorite was. Feeling relieved that he actually said yes, he quickly ordered my steamer and pastry, and we headed to our seats. When sitting down, it was warm, and it stayed warm until someone opened the door, and there was a freezing gust that sent chills down my spine. Now I really wanted that drink. When our drinks were finally called, I got up to help my Grandpa bring them to our table. As I sat in front of the steaming beauty of a drink, I blew the flowing stream of steam off the top of the cup to allow myself to enjoy it without feeling like I was swallowing lava. When I took a sip, the frothy, warm milk warmed my heart and soul with just a hint of vanilla. Not only did my Grandpa do these things for me, he always made sure that I had what I needed while also pushing me to be independent when it was necessary, such as letting me help prepare dinner at a young age while still having fun and being silly, and he would ask for my opinions on certain things like what we were going to do that day. Having the option to choose what I want to do helped express feelings on what we should or shouldn’t do, and he always listened to what I had to say, but also gave his input.
It felt like a thorn in my side living those memories buried deep in the back of my mind. Now, as I am thinking about them again, digging them up, and unplugging that thorn, it feels nice to think about how it got me to where I am today. With my Grandpa being there to support me throughout my whole childhood, while also showing me that being kind costs nothing. Having a different lifestyle compared to what I had previously was much different. In the past, getting yelled at for expressing my emotions was something that I was used to. The whole time I stayed with my grandparents, and even until now, neither my grandpa nor grandma yelled at me. It was something that I wasn’t used to, and this helped me be able to show my true emotions without any fear of being in trouble.
My grandpa helped me see the better parts of life and gave me so many opportunities to have fun. Having these times of fun had made me forget all the bad things that happened during that time. Of course, there are little things I remembered that will never get out of my head, but now my childhood is filled with happy, adventurous memories. When living with my grandparents, my Grandpa went to church. I never believed in Jesus, but I loved my Grandpa so much I went with him, I mean, after all, he did everything for me, even if he didn’t like it, such as joining me, my brother, and my grandma during board games, which is a big surprise because he isn’t the board game type of guy. After church, our tradition was to always eat lunch at Por Que No, look at plants at the Portland Plant Nursery, and sometimes even get one for Grandma as a surprise. These soft moments of peace, where I could express myself, are what created me as I am today. The compassionate, loving, kind person that I am.
I had thought that I‘ve been the same person that I always have been my whole life. Kind appearance, same body movements, same thoughts, same choice of words, and same actions. I’ve come to realise that I have changed so much as a person. So now that I am almost an adult, I feel that my Grandpa has helped me be able to open my shell, but also be able to ask for help. With the compassion and kindness that he has taught me growing up, he was able to raise me through a dark time in my life, where if it were other people, it may have ended differently. As of now, I’ve helped my cousin with her parents’ divorce because I know what it’s like to live through that, so if I can be there for them as my grandpa was there for me, then I would feel accomplished in life. I’ve been told that people who have gone through the same things that I have did not turn out the way that I did, and that is something that I should be proud of. I am just grateful that I had him available to comfort me during a time when it was most needed.