for the past couple of months my grandfather had been in an out of the hospital with faltering health- my family had been reminding me to make my way over to see him and spend some time with him.. and for the longest time I had been putting it off until a couple weeks ago it had been made clear to me that he was reaching his final days- been put on hospice in his house and they weren't expecting him to last much longer.

so when I went to visit him, he was weak but able to whisper-speak, and while my grandma was out of the room, we got to talk a little about things going on and as I look back, I remember the sudden calmness I felt as soon as I sat next to him and he started to speak to me. it was that clear validation of recognizing me and being able to communicate that put me at ease.

although my visit was brief and not too heavy, he told me "it doesn't matter if you come over every day until the end, all that matters is that you made it here, now." and at that time, it hit me how important it was that I really was there.
my grandfather passed away a couple days later on July 8th.
I love you Grandpa.. thank you for everything you've done for me and my family.. I know you're with your daughter, my mom, now. :) miss you both.