For Papa

I went up to Granny's today and cleaned her house to surprise her. She treats me like a princess so it's the least I could do. Then we went to the hospital to visit Papa for the last time before I go back to school tomorrow.

Saying goodbye to Papa was really difficult. I'm glad I came home to tell him I love him.

My Papa is a an absolutely brilliant man. I'd bring home textbooks from school and he'd sit at the table and read it. Last year, I emailed him a website that shows how Marist Poll gets their data. When I came home he presented me with a packet on how he learned the math they used, how I could apply it to real life, and how I could turn that into a facial recognition system for patients if I ever became a doctor. It wasn't surprising to find articles from science magazines clipped out and left on the table for my brothers and I. If you got in a car with him it was always classical music or his audio books playing. He'd read, and post-it note things, and And of course he watches 60 Minutes religiously.

I'll always remember his more adventurous side, or the side that drove Granny crazy. One year, he spent hours laboring over a sledding hill in his backyard for his grandkids. To Granny's terror he engineered an incredible sledding hill; top speeds were reached and trees were narrowly avoided, but we all walked away unscathed. And I will absolutely never forget when Granny was at my house and received a call from Papa saying he was on his way; walking from Huntington to Wantagh. It was October, it was windy and chilly, and Papa walked for 7 hours and 15 minutes with his jacket safety pinned shut since the zipper was broken.

His love for his 11 grandkids has always been so apparent. He'd come to track meets, swim meets, school plays, and graduations, and document it all. He brought us to museums, made life sized posters of us, pushed us down hills in wagons, and humor us fighting over who is the favorite grandchild.

This was just an attempt at recording some of the memories I'll always have of Papa. It hardly even touches on how much love he has given me, or how much he has taught me, or how incredibly grateful for having had such a man be such a big part in my life. I can't imagine anyone who has ever met him feeling any differently.

I love you, Papa.

Quote
"If you truly love someone, they never leave. They remain in your heart forever."