Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Stewart's With Grandpa


It’s the thought that counts, right? I remember the last thing I ever did with my Grandpa before he died.

It was a hot summer day. Dad was at work and Mom and Mandi were fighting as usual. Grandpa had just arrived for his annual visit. He and I were sitting in my living room discussing the TV show we had watched the night before. (“E! 100 Hottest Celebs”)

I remember that night as clear as a cloudless day. Grandpa came downstairs and sat next to me on the couch. I was watching “E! 100 Hottest Celebs.” The show was almost over; we were waiting for them to reveal the number one spot. Beyoncé had the hottest body of all! When they flashed her picture up on the screen, all I heard was my Grandpa say “Mmm!” I turned and just stared in amazement. He looked at me and said “What you know who your Grandmother is.” Oh my I could not believe he had said that, I must have laughed so hard for about ten minutes straight. I had tears pouring out of my eyes. That had to be one of the funniest things I have ever heard him say. While reminiscing about the previous night, we were interrupted with the yells and screams coming from upstairs. Grandpa leaned over and said “Let’s get out of here.” So we did.

Grandpa was always up for a snack so we went to one of his favorite places: Stewart’s! We pulled into the drive-in and a waitress ran up to our window. She asked for our order and Grandpa blurted it out, without even asking what I wanted. He said, “I want two root beers, and two hotdogs with mustard and relish, one for me and one for my Grandson.” RELISH?!?!?!? What was he thinking? Eww, I hate relish!!! He looked at me and said “What?” I told him I didn’t like relish and he laughed and said “Everyone likes relish.” I could not say a word. He was my grandfather whom I loved to death and I would do anything for him.

The waitress came back to our car with our order. I did a double take at the relish then looked at my Grandpa. Right there I knew that he just wanted to be with me; spend some time with me. So since I loved him so much, I sucked it up and ate the relish. It was so hard to get down, but every time I looked over and saw my Grandpa smiling; I forced it down.

We repeated this routine every day for the rest of his stay. (6 Days) Never have I ever eaten that much dill. I was sick to my stomach the entire week, but I will never forget the seven days’ worth of quality time spent with my Grandpa. He died three months later. (I believe Grandma poisoned him, but that’s another story.) As sad as I was, all I could think about at the funeral were those trips to Stewarts. Then it dawned on me…NO MORE RELISH EVER!!! Although I stay as far away from pickles as I can, every time I eat a hotdog, or drink root beer, or pass a Stewarts, I think of my wonderful Grandpa and how much he meant to me. I was truly blessed to have him in my life. I know one day I will meet up with him again and share two hotdogs…with relish.

The End

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