Friday, January 9, 2009

#59 - I only met him twice



Pepe's grandpa passed away New Years Day (1/1/09). He was the young age of 96 and from the two times I met him, I thought he was such an amazing person.

Baby O was named (a variation of his name) after him because we thought he was such a loving, hilarious, thoughtful, righteous man.

He had such a fresh perspective on life and was always saying positive things to bring other people up. He had great jokes and a sense of humor that was better than most. He was very grateful for what his life and experiences he had. And Pepe told me that every night before he went to bed he would pray for every one of his kids and grandchildren by name . . . how selfless this great man was. I will miss him, but am very thankful that I was able to get to know him, even if it was just a little, before he passed on from this life.

On the way home from the funeral (I actually didn't get to go to the service because I was super sick in the hotel room, but that's another story) I was telling Pepe that we should make a New Year's resolution to be less selfish. That being said, here are some qualities that I think Pepe's grandfather had (I only met him twice, so I only saw a tiny slice of his life and I am sure there are many more qualities) that I would like to work on this year (and for the rest of my life, for that matter.)

  • Sense of Humor - he always had a joke to tell or something to say to bring a smile or laugh to everyone near (who wouldn't want that quality?)
  • Grateful - very thankful for everything in his life and always giving praise to God.
  • Positive - always had something positive to say.
  • Knew people's names - I'm not that old and I have a hard time remebering names, I've got to work on this.
  • Selfless - top thing I would like to work on this year. Wouldn't this world be so much better if we were all just a little less selfish?
Well, I've got a lot to work on this new year. Better get crackin.

2 comments:

Kim said...

He was certainly an awesome Grandpa. Hopefully his legacy will live on in all of us. I'll add one more thing to the list. He lived through the Great Depression and learned to use something until it really could never be used again. I remember when we would go to visit, we would all throw our napkin away after meals, but Grandpa would keep his for the next meal..and the next...and the next until he just couldn't use it anymore, which was a LONG time! I think I'd like to try and be more frugal and less wasteful this year, like him, along with all those other things you mentioned.

Maritime Girl said...

Sounds like a wonderful man to me. I am so glad that you had the opportunity to meet him Joni. I like Kim's story about the napkin use. I will never look at my napkin in the same light again!
What a nice tribute to Pepe's grandpa.

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