Family is the most important thing in my life. For me, I feel like family are the only people who are truly there for you no matter what, no matter when, and no matter how. My family is somewhat small, and the extended fam. is not exactly close. I don't see my father's side, due to divorce, etc...and my mother's side is elderly or have already passed on. We have a strong nuclear family however, especially myself, my brother and my mother.
I noticed the past couple weeks I've been really thinking about and missing my grandparents. I'm not sure if that is due to the fact that I'm planning one of the most important events of my life, (my wedding) but I'm pretty sure that has something to do with it.
My grandfather was a "ball-busting" old navy man, who served in WWII, loved coffee and repairing clocks. He used to call me his turd bird, and we had an extremely close relationship. My grandmother was a crazy bird lady, who absolutely loved animals, collecting dolls, More cigarettes, and her Sunkist orange soda. These two were hilarious, and the most loving grandparents one could ever wish for! Throughout my elementary years, I stayed at my grandparents a lot of the time for sleepovers and just to hang out.
I still remember their glass candy jars filled to the brim everytime I came over, I could eat however much my little stomach could handle. I still remember going through an old tin of family photographs and my grandmother quizzing me on the names. I still remember sitting on my grandpa's lap playing with his hair because I liked the way his shaved head felt. I still hear my grandma asking my brother and I to go pick her up More cigarettes at the gas station across the street, and giving us $50.00 to buy whatever else we wanted while we were there ( we were not even teenagers yet, and when she got sick my mom made her quit smoking :] ). I can still hear my grandfather snoring along with 10+ clocks ticking so loud no one but my grandma could sleep all night. I can still smell parmesan toast, my grandparents specialty for each time we stayed over. Last, I can still hear my grandma yelling at Oprah, and switching it over to watch Jerry Springer instead.
The list could go on and these quirky and fun memories will never fade. So since my brother recently opened up his own tattoo shop in our area, I decided to get tattoos; an anchor for my grandpa and a feather for my grandma, to memorialize them forever. Maybe this way, besides all the fond memories, they will be a part of me forever, even on my wedding day. :]
