It all started with a nice bright and sunny day, I didn’t expect anything less, but to hang out with grandparents. Since it was a frequent thing to do weekly, me and my brother being so young we couldn’t watch ourselves, when my parents went off to work in the morning. Therefore my Nanny and Bumpa would watch us from the morning to roughly about four or five o clock in the afternoon. It was the best time being so young with me and my brother, we both didn’t have any worries in the world, with a supporting family like I have, and every day was like a carnival, never to be found at the hands of boredom. I remember this one day so vividly out of all the days I’ve spent with my grandparents. I could recall that is one of my most remembered days that I had growing up.

The day started off kind of usual, My brother proceeds to wakeup first, get it in the shower first, because the older one always gets to go first. Later on I proceed to do the same exact thing. My dad drops my brother and I off at my grandparents’ house, and we’ve decided on what we are going to do that day. We’re going fishing! We all hop into the car and buckle in, and were off, it’s about an hour drive to the spot we decided to go fishing at. Now to re-ensure you I have no clue at this point, that my Bumpa has been diagnosed with Cancer within his Kidneys. My relatives, which includes my grandparents, mom and dad, have not told me that my Bumpa got cancer. I figured they wouldn’t tell me or my brother because of our age, me being only about six years old, and my brother about 10 years old since we have a four year age difference, was a pretty good reason not to tell us since were that young we probably wouldn’t handle situations like this too well. Which I agree on, but my whole life I looked up to my dad, my brother, and my Bumpa especially as role models for me. They’ve taught me everything I need to know from this day forward, honestly I couldn’t tell you what I would do if was to lose one of them.

The day has just started though, and I still I have no idea of what’s going on, neither does my big brother. Were still just kids, running along the rocked beach, barefoot, like were some kind of animals. I remember I caught one of my first fish that day, it was probably the smallest small mouth bass known to man, probably no bigger than my six year old hand. What made it even better is my Bumpa helped me catch it, my fishing pole was too big for me, so he had to cast the line for me every time. Putting the pole over his shoulders and unleashing the reel, he let that hook and worm fly out into the middle of the pond for me every time, so I had the chance to catch a big one. Me, being so young, I got impatient very fast, after about two minutes of sitting and waiting for my bobber to go under, I just couldn’t take it so I reeled in my line every single time. Without frustration my Bumpa would come over and cast my line into a different spot for me, over and over again. Now that I think of it, he just wanted to do absolutely everything he could for me, because he didn’t know if he was going to wake up the next morning or not. I cherish this one moment, over any other moment in my life. There is this picture my Nanny took of me, my brother, and my Bumpa all sitting down. My Bumpa was in the back of us, followed by my brother in front of him, and me in the very front holding my fish to the camera, because I was so proud of what I caught that day. Were all overlooking the lake, on that beautiful day, it’s crazy to think what possibly could have been running through my Bumpa’s mind that very day. Us kids is what my grandparents breathed for. He was devastated by the thoughts of being away from us, and his family. I couldn’t blame the poor guy, I’d feel the same exact way.

The day my family told me, was about a couple days after he got diagnosed. I could tell what was going on, because my mother started crying once she got off the phone with my Nanny. I didn’t know how to feel about this whole situation, I was lost in a sea of emotions, on a boat sinking to the bottom of the sea with sorrow. There was only one thing to do, and it was to take the situation day by day, step by step. I know my Bumpa can make it through cancer, he’s a very strong willed man. Not willing to give up to anything or anyone, he is determined to live out the rest of his life. Fortunately my Bumpa has made it to this very day. Like me, my Bumpa has taken everything, step by step, and day by day.