Everyone has to go at one point in time; I just didn’t know my Grandpa would go early.

Reminiscing back on the times he would pick me up from school and we would go fishing. We

did a lot of fun things together. He taught me how to ride a bike, and a lot more.

I remember everything that we did, all the lessons I learned. Thinking about it now, I too

much of it for granted. I remember when I was out side fishing at the lake, behind the Oklahoma

City Zoo. We unloaded the fishing poles on that sunny weekday around 3 o’ clock. I was in

kindergarten. That day, I learned how to put the worm on the hook, the right way. My Grandpa

caught about five or six fish while I, on the other hand, caught nothing. After throwing the fish

back into the lake, we packed up and left. Once we left, we went back to my Grandparent’s

house and ate dinner.

My parents arrived dshortly after I finshed my dinner to take me home, and I told them

everything that happened. One day we went finishing and I got mad because I didn’t catch any

fish. I never wanted to go fishing again after that because I was too stubborn. When I was in the

fisrt grade, my grandpa became very ill with cancer, but he didn’t want to receive treatment from

a hospital, so he stayed home. My grandmother would take care of him most of the time. I

remember looking into the room and seeing my dad and grandma sitting on the bed next to him.

When my dad walked out, he had tears running down his cheeks.

A couple of weeks later, on October 28th, 2003, I was getting a bowl of icecream out of

the freezer, as I still do to this day almost every night before I go to sleep. Walking back into my

room, I saw my dad waiting on me. I sat down and he broke the news to me that my grandpa had

dies earlier that day. I could not do anything, but cry myself to sleep. Looking back at it now, I

realize that I was very selfish and stubborn towards him for not wanting to spend time with him,
just because I could not have something my way. Changed greatly by the experience, I thought,

“Why now?”, “Why my grandpa?”. The funeral was on halloween of 2003. When I was at the

funeral, all I could do is try to hold back tears, but that had no chance of working out.

Never take anything or anyone for granted. I took a loved one for granted, and he was

gone, just like that. You never know what you have until its gone. I wish I could go back and

spend as much time with him as I could. Cherish every moment you have with the ones you truly

love and care about, because you never know what you have until it is gone.