My memories of my grandfather started when I was little from the time I came home from the hospital. He was there at my house waiting for me. My grandfather was the person in my life who has influenced me. he was there for me as I grew up, He was babysitter,caregiver, teacher, bast friend. The memories I have of him and the last year of his life are what I remember most.

As I was growing up he was there if I needed to tell someone something, like what was on my mind. He was there when I have had a bad day and/or a shoulder to cry on. When I was little he used to bring me to swimming lessons. One time he forgot me at swimming lessons in Wanamingo, and was half way home before he remembered me. He was there for me and I was there for him. He was my babysitter as I grew up. He was there for me when my parents weren’t there for me, but mostly when my parents were out for the night or was on vacation. He was a caregiver and teacher for me and others, helped me with my homework. When I was little he kept me safe, and he was my best friend, helped me with problems I had and/or I needed to be cheered up. He took care of me when my parents were gone and now I have the memories of the last years with him.

The Memories of him are unforgettable. He taught me many things throughout the years. He showed me how to play Cribbage which I never was good at. Another game he taught me how to play yahoo which is like crazy 8’s but the 2’s are wild. He had some medical problems like a TPN bag(it helps give you get vitamins and food into your body), and other things. I had to help him hook up the TPN bag up in the evening. One time he was at the hospital in Cannon and none of the nurses there knew how to hook up a TPN bag. So, my parents went home to get the stuff that we needed to hook the TPN bag up. I showed the nurses what to do and at the end the nurses got mad at me cause I didn't sterilize the hook up. He also needed help with washing his back and putting a shirt on cause when he was little he fell off a tree and broke his arm. Then later in his life he fell down a silo onto a cement floor and broke the same arm again. Had to help his vitamins together and give them to him every morning. I had to help him with his food, cause there were some food he couldn't digest. There were other things that has happened to him in his life like he got hit by a bull. As many times he helped with hauling corn or beans from the field, there were many times he ended up in the ditch and dumping the corn or beans out of the truck.

The last year of his life was hard on the family and me. We were down at St. Mary’s in Rochester, a lot, for days at a time. There’s a funeral quote that we choose to put a the funeral card.”God saw he was getting tired and a cure was not to be so he put his arm around him, and whispered, “Come with me.” With tearful eyes we watched him weaken, and saw him fade away, and although we loved him, dearly, we could not make him stay. A golden heart stopped beating, hard working hands to rest. God broke our hearts to prove to us, God Only Takes The Best!” I was one of the last of the family to speak to him before the doctor put a tube down his throat so he could breathe easier. At the funeral, one of his doctors, wrote a speech talking about my grandfather. Still today I read the speech and look at pictures of him with his wife and his children. When I read the speech it still hits me, he’s not here anymore but his spirit is.
These are the memories I have of him like he was there for me as I grew up, was there as my babysitter,caregiver, teacher, best friend, and the memories I have of my grandfather. The memories will be with me in my heart and mind for the rest of my life. Life changes even if we don’t want it to change that's why we need to live it today. There’s a quote Helen Keller said that reminds me of him: Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the prescence of fate is strength undeafeatable.