MY GRANDPA

Someone told me this past week that grandparents are magic — specifically grandfathers. And I started thinking this could quite possibly be the most appropriate word to describe them. Especially, my gramps.

My grandpa was magic, but an ordinary man — just a pure and simple good man, and I think others would agree. His smile and laugh were and still are my favorite, and although he nearly lived 97 years, his eyes still sparkled. He had always been strong both physically and mentally, but soft in many other ways. But besides his physical traits, his heart was strikingly beautiful. I like to think that came from his experiences as a son, a brother, a husband, a farmer, a father, a grandfather and the many other hats he wore.

He was a good Samaritan, a yummy baker and great neighbor. He always made sure everyone was taken care of and no one would ever leave empty handed — holding not only veggies or cookies but also gaining the love and joy that was a part of the process. He was the most selfless man and the hardest worker. 

Although he was a farmer — a stellar farmer to be exact — he was so dignified and beyond loyal with an overflow of wisdom. I used helped him plant watermelon, pumpkins and his infamous tomatoes, and in the moments when my millennial-self would get tired from looking at how much we still had to plant, he would look at me and say, “Don’t look at how far you have to go, look at how far you’ve come.”

This saying is still one of my favorites.

Life was good to him, and I know this because he told me. And out of all of the amazing moments he experienced in his long life, the things he told me he was most grateful for was his family and grandkids.

And I think we would return the favor, because you see, we are the ones who are most grateful for him. And always will be. He instilled in us the value of family, and he was always our anchor. His role may change now and although he might not be our anchor anymore, he can now be our sail. 

Yes he was ordinary, but he made the ordinary, extraordinary. And in every moment we parted he would always say, Los Amigos. Sayonara. So to you gramps, Los Amigos, Sayonara.

I love you. May your beautiful legacy carry on.

Robert David Sharp

August 28, 1921 - July 6, 2018