The evening began as a normal Fall night in our household, or so we thought. My brother and I were upstairs, helping each other with homework and bickering at the same time.  The television was softly playing  in the background.  Downstairs, my parents were talking and cooking dinner. All of a sudden we heard my Dad.

“Hey kids!” My Dad called loudly “Come downstairs!”

“Why?” We both replied.
“Because I told you so!”
“Fine.” We both grumbled as we headed downstairs to see what our parents wanted.

Once we came down, we noticed that both of our parents looked sad.

“What’s wrong?” I asked with a hint of worry in my voice.

“Grandpa Earl is in the hospital.”

The first time my family visited my grandpa was about a week or two after he was put into the hospital. I could smell the scent that all hospitals seem to have. When we finally got to his room, it was white and bright. He was laying in bed watching some television show with the curtains open so he could see outside.  My most vivid memory of that visit was being in there with my cousins and brother making conversation.

“So how are you feeling?” I asked
“As good as I can be while being in a hospital,” He said with a laugh. “How has school been?”
“Pretty good, I am getting all good grades,” I said

The other people in the room started to talk with him as I stood there looking around the room. I could hear him laughing at something my Dad and my Uncle Jason had said. We stayed for an hour before we all finally decided to leave. We said our goodbyes and started to head home.

Thanksgiving that year was the first Thanksgiving I can remember that Grandpa Earl could not go to. We were at my Grandma Jean’s house, as usual, getting all of the food ready for Thanksgiving dinner. I could smell the food in the air, and it made my stomach grumble. That moment took me back to Thanksgiving the year before.
“When is the food going to be ready?” I whined to the adults downstairs.

“It will be ready when it’s ready Sydney.” my mom replied.
I rolled my eyes and headed towards Grandpa Earl who was watching television..
“Whatcha watchin’?” I asked.
“I’m about to turn it to the Cowboys game.” he replied.
“Fun, do you mind if I watch it with you?” I asked.
“I don't mind at all.”

I snapped back to reality when I heard my mom calling the kids downstairs for dinner. We all raced toward the delicious smell of the food.

I was on my way to a volleyball tournament the next time I saw Grandpa Earl. My Dad and I were walking down the hall of the hospital when he turned to me.

“Hey Syd,” He said.
“Yeah?” I said as I looked over at him.
“Grandpa might be a little different from they way you remember him.”
“Ok” I said sadly “How long does he have left?”
“A week at best” Was all he said.

We walked into the hospital room and what I saw shocked me. The man in the bed was a shadow of the man I once knew. He was all skin and bones and barely could speak. My Uncle Jason and Grandma Jean were there at the time.

“How’s he doing?” My dad asked.
“He’s doing ok.” My Uncle Jason replied sadly “I was about to help him shave.”
“That’s good” he replied “How long have y’all been here?’
“About an hour or so. Y’all are heading to a volleyball tournament right?”
“Yup”  I said cheerfully

We were in there for a good thirty minutes before we had to leave. I hugged, said bye, and told him I would see him next time. Then my Dad and I headed out to the car and to my volleyball tournament. Little did I know that that was the last time I would see Grandpa Earl alive.

I woke up on the following Monday. I was in a great mood because I did not have to go to school because of ice. I layed in bed for a good thirty minutes to an hour before I decided to get up and eat breakfast. I decided to watch a little television before eating.  As I was settling down into the couch, my dad sat down beside me.

“Hey Syd,” He said sadly.
“Yeah?”
“I've got to tell you something.”
“What is it?” I said curiously.
“Grandpa Earl died last night”
“You are joking right?” I said in denial.

He just shook his head. I sat there for a minute filled with so many emotions. It felt like the world was falling apart. I looked over at my dad. We just hugged for awhile, and I cried. I heard something upstairs and looked over to see my brother coming down.

“Hey Syd, why are you crying?” He said with a little bit of concern in his voice.

“Grandpa Earl died last night” was all I said.

He just looked at me with shock in his eyes and sat down next to me. The rest of the day was mostly silent as the news soaked in. On the night of February 22nd, my grandfather had died.

The funeral was held at my grandparents church. I was greeted by many people that I did not know. Once the service started, both my brother and I were in tears.

“It’s going to be all right.” I said as I hugged my brother.

“I know.” he replied.

We hugged a little longer until we decided to say goodbye to all of our family. As I looked back at the church, I felt tears welt up in my eyes. I thought about how he would never see me graduate high school. We headed for the car after we said our goodbyes. My thoughts were scattered as we headed to Grandma Jean’s house and the car ride was silent.

The moral of this story is to not take people for granted because you have no idea when you will lose them for good. Even though this experience made me a stronger person, it still makes me extremely sad. The following weeks were some of the hardest times of my life. Looking back, this has helped me to not ever take my family and friends for granted.