I am walking in honor of my Grandpa Walt who meant so much to me. We were together all the time when I was young. Every summer him and my Grandma would take my brother and I out for ice cream almost daily, spend whole afternoons at the park with us, and share the most entertaining stories and songs. We also accompanied him in volunteering for Meals on Wheels and helping others. He was a special person who was unconditionally kind.
When I became a young adult feeling very uncertain about the world, who I was, and what I wanted out of life, I confessed this a bit to him on a car ride to dinner when he asked how I was doing. He simply told me that I should do what makes me happy. Who cares what everyone else wants, I should do what makes me happy. And with every life change I've made, even when he was very ill and my grandma would wait for a good day to give him life updates, he always just asked if I was happy. And she would reassure him that yes, I am happy. It's a pretty simple philosophy that has been so comforting to me during challenging times of change in my life and reflects the type of person he was, unconditionally loving and kind.
We lost him too soon due to Alzheimers. I hope we will find a cure to this awful disease that has taken the lives of so many amazing people like my grandpa.
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