Believe it or not, my grandpa would
have turned 99 years old today, November 7! He died when he was 74, on a sad
day in May 1993. Despite the fact that he left this world 25 years ago, he is
still very much alive in my heart and daily conversations.
This fact became very evident to me
last night. I was in the process of making dinner when my youngest daughter,
who never had the privilege of meeting him, burst in the door with an ice-cream
cake to celebrate his birthday. Ice-cream cake was his favorite cake. I looked
at her puzzled as she announced, “I bought an ice-cream cake for Paw’s birthday”.
I stuttered around and said, “Uh… his birthday is tomorrow”. “I know,” she
replied, “but we’re all here tonight for dinner”!
I was surprised and felt so happy inside
as she and my older daughter, and son-in-law cut into the cake and began
recounting countless stories of a man they never knew. My aunt and I sat there
laughing and giggling as this younger generation reminded us of the nick-names
he had for us, the crazy shenanigans’ he pulled, and the fun memories about him
that we’ve imparted to them.
And you know what? He would have
LOVED it! They re-told events of his life, things he had done and didn’t leave
out a detail. It was almost as if they had actually been there in person. I
feel like there is no greater honor we could give to my grandpa, than to have
his great-grandchildren that never knew him, to “know” him. Not only to “know”
him, but to have one actually make a stop after work, to buy a birthday cake,
to celebrate a man she never met, that has been dead for 25 years.
Today, one of my third-graders came
bounding in and told me, “Mrs. Webb, today is my birthday”! I told him that he
shares a birthday with a great man, my late grandpa. “How old would he be if he
was alive,” he asked. “99,” I told him. And then I thought, “He is alive”. He’s
alive in all those stories and memories. He is alive in the fact that my kids
remind me about him, and talk about him like they knew him personally.
Eating the cake and sharing all
those stories they have learned from my memories was a great feeling. I hope that
I can live my life in a way that 25 years after I am long gone, a generation of
kids, that I never got to meet are celebrating my life with the same laughter
and joy. And I hope they are eating my favorite cake, Chocolate with Chocolate
Icing!
