In 2006 my grandfather, Richard Bennett, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. At the time I was four, growing up with my mom and my new little brother Benny. My grandfather was my best friend. My grandma and I used to pretend we had a cooking show. I’d make Papa stand in the corner because I learned from Rachel Ray that a chef never turns their back on the camera. I remember how we would fight over who got to sleep in the bunk bed, even though he was always gonna let me win. The opportunities that came with being his granddaughter were awesome. Getting into the Country Club and all the cool stories of how we met celebrities because of his amazing jobs. I was proud to call him my grandfather because he was the coolest man on this planet. Around the age of 11,  I started to realize that he wasn’t the same as he was when I was little. Of course he was always astonishing , he was just: different. Lucky for my family his Alzheimer's didn’t happen so rapidly. We got to enjoy the little things with him until they started to fade away like a sunset.

I missed when he would take me to Barnes & Noble and buy me a chocolate chip cookie. Since I couldn’t drink coffee at the age of 2, he would put milk in a coffee cup so I could feel like a big kid. He was so amazing. Through time he became more aggressive and less like himself. Every day I’d see him and say “oh he’s a lot worse,” - not realizing the years that were coming in my future. We finally put him in Silverado, a memory care facility. The people there were amazing and we could not have done it without them. But it was hard going to see him knowing that he wasn’t the same Papa I had when I was younger.

The memories from the past were being blurred by the future of heartache. He got worse to the point to where he would mumble and he couldn’t do anything himself. One day he fell out of his bed and landed on his hip which caused the fracture and led to surgery. Many people would say that that’s the turning point to where the person you love is going to pass. But my grandfather’s health was amazing. It was just his mind that was gone. So he recovered from the surgery but then he started to feel sick which led him to being at the hospital again. He was in the hospital for a few weeks. On September 19th of 2018 at 4:45 my grandfather passed away. I was holding his right hand and during that dreaded moment I realized he wasn’t leaving us, he was going to see the Lord. Watching my Mom and my Grandma cry broke me. All of a sudden all of the memories from the past that were blurred from the future became clear.

I had never lost my grandfather, he was just hidden behind the disease that he was given. Every day when I think back to him, I think about the good times we had. I’ve learned to be patient and compassionate with people that are suffering. Also i’ve learned to treat everyone the same no matter how different they are. Although this isn’t the dream experience I wanted or the guy my Mom wanted her father to grow up to be. The Lord’s plan in my mind was to make him teach us how to slow down and realize that every moment is worth 100. People will slip away before one can adjust to it but that is just life. So I miss my grandfather but I know one day when I see him again, I can thank him for all the things that he taught me. For that I am truly grateful.