Moj Dida i Ja

My Grandfather and I

05.21.1936 - 05.21.2015

 

Happy Father's Day! While my father is very important to me and I love him very much, I want to talk about someone else today. My grandfather. Today marks the month anniversary of his passing and I just wanted to share some memories.

My grandfather was badass. There is no other way to describe him. He was 66 in that photo and he still had a six pack, I would not want to meet him in a dark alley.

 

That being said, he was one of the most caring people I knew. I remember seeing him at the airport picking us up, and I would run to him through the glass doors and he'd just give me the biggest hug ever, squeezing me so tight even after I had let go!

 

 When I was little he used to run around trying to catch me so that he could give me a kiss and I'd run away because I didn't like the feeling of his mustache.

 

Then as I got older it changed. I remember the last summer I went out there when I pretended I was still sleeping in the morning and he walked into my bedroom and gave me a whiskery kiss on my forehead. I didn't mind it much then, it was actually kind of nice and I let out a smile when he left and I finally opened my eyes.

 

As I woke up in the morning and made my way down stairs he would always say "Andela, sta si sanjala?" which means what did you dream. At lunch time he'd belt out "Rucak!" around the entire house which means lunchtime and my brothers and cousins would all run inside to get my grandmother's delicious homemade dishes.

 

At night we would be eating fruit and he would sit outside with a glass of beer on the porch and we'd just sit there in silence enjoying the night. We'd hear the crickets and the bats would woosh out of the shrubs nearby and we'd just breathe and enjoy the silence. Every once in a while he'd tell a joke and practice his very broken english on us.

 

The best memories I have with my grandfather however, are when we went to the countryside and we climbed the rocks lining their property. We'd always wear long sweatpants with our socks over the ends of them with gym shoes. Then we'd hold long sticks that my grandfather would find for us and watch out for snakes. I remember sitting on the rocks, you could see mountains streching for miles and the air was so clean. At night you could see every single star and spot at least three shooting ones.

 

 

 

I have so many memories with my grandfather that I will never forget.

 

My grandparents had a lot of olive trees in the backyard and my grandfather would always sit me on it. The one time I tried to do it by myself I scraped my thighs. What can I say? Grandfather's do it best!

 

This is the last photo I will ever have with both of my grandparents.