The Death of a Loved One

I believe you should not take people for granted.

The saying goes for many people, “You don’t know what you have got until it’s gone”. For some it’s a significant other, for some it’s a friend or thing, but for me it was my Great Grandmother. She had the opportunity to be in my life, but I took it for granted.

My story starts about 4 years ago, my Great Grandma had just had surgery and was in a convalescent home recovering. Me, my dad, my cousin Trever and my sister went to visit her. We arrived at the convalescent home and found my Great Grandmother in bed and my Grandmother by her side, as she always was. We all got into a conversation and Trever and I found ourselves asking GG, what we called our Great Grandmother, about her childhood. She had grown up in Sanger, California on a farm. She came from a family of 13, which included 5 stepbrothers and sisters. She had outlived all of them. I don’t completely remember all the details of the story, but I just remember how interested I was in learning about her life.

I remember she told us about her school. It was a single schoolhouse. If you didn’t do what you were supposed to, you were punished. These punishments weren’t like the ones we have today. In her time they got hit with rulers and had to go stand in a corner for hours at a time depending on the severity of what they had done. She told me the teacher used to hit her with a ruler because she was left-handed and was supposed to write with her right hand.

There are certain things in life that you remember even if they are completely irrelevant. But those are the things that leave an imprint on your life. This was one of those event. I mainly remember how much I enjoyed this moment I spent with her, learning about her childhood and comparing it to how different it is today.

That was the only time I can remember ever taking an interest and the time to learn about GG’s life before she left us. Instead of taking an interest in her, I would often be on the phone with my friends or AIMing them or texting them. I look back and realize how rude it was of me. At the time, I didn’t realize how short a person’s life really is.

While I may have missed my chance at a strong relationship with GG, I have learned from my mistakes and appreciate people more today than ever. Never again will I take a relationship for granted in my life.