Old Memories

I can remember that day like it was just yesterday. Running into my grandma's house for the first time in like a year. I could smell her famous chicken noodle casserole cooking in the oven when I saw my grandpa Big Daddy walking out of the kitchen to greet us with my grandma right behind him. After all the hugs and kisses, I could remember my Big Daddy telling me and my sister to meet us out at his truck in 5 minutes to go on our secret Culver Ice Cream trip. Every year that my family came down to Austin the first thing we did after getting in the house was sneak off to Culver's for some ice cream. Sometimes we were not all that succesful. We would come home about 30 minutes before dinner and my grandma would catch us with chocolate or vanilla ice cream all over our faces. That was the last trip to Culver's I ever took with Big Daddy and my sister. I knew that he had Diabetes and went to dialysis, but I did not know how bad it was. Over the next year when we went to visit he was getting worse and worse. Over the summer he had to get put in the hospital because his kidneys were not working all that well. He was waiting for a kidney, he didn't get his miracle. the summer that he was put in the hospital we went to visit him every other day so he wouldn't be alone in the cold, sterile smelling hospital room. Sometimes he couldn't even recognize the people he was talking to. As the days went on he was getting weaker and frailer by the minute. When we went to visit him in the hospital he would look so small in that hospital bed. We knew his chances were small in getting a kidney. So all we could really do was just be with him as much as we could before that day came. Eventually we had to go back home to get ready for school and work. We called every week to talk to my grandma about how he was doing. There was no change, and little by little our hopes were getting torn apart. Time had passed with no change. Thanksgiving was around the corner. It was about 2 weeks before we planned to go to Austin when we got the call. All I can remeber is my mom talking to the doctor on the phone with tears running down her face was when I knew that it had happened. My world crashed down around me. I was in so much pain I couldn't even cry. I tried to be strong for my mom and sister. That day me and my sister had to go to school to get all of our assignments for the next two weeks. It was the hardest thing that I had to do in my life so far. Everyone knew that I had lost my grandpa and they all wanted to be around me. I didn't want to be around anyone. I just wanted to be in Austin with the rest of my family. My mom came and picked me and my sister up. We went to the airport waiting for our plane to start boarding. My mom and sister were quiet. My mom was sitting there with her head in her hands trying not to cry. My sister was sitting there staring off into space with red puffy eyes. I wanted to do something to make their pain go away, but I was in pain too. When we got to my grandma's house it was covered with baskets and notes every where. We ran into my grandma's arms. For some reason her hug didn't feel so warm and comforting as it always did. the funeral was the toughest part. The church was filled with all of his golf friends, his contracters and everyone he knew. Going home that night was all right my aunts and my mom and grandma were all sitting around in the living room with chinese food and the fire going with some movie going on in the background. We were all laughing because we were sharing stories of my grandpa's silly antics. It made us feel a little better. But there was still that pain that will never go away.