My grandfather was known by many different names to many different people: husband, father, grandfather, Uncle, cousin, friend, but to me he was and will always be known as Gaga. Why that name? Well I couldn’t say grandpa when I was learning to speak my first words. The best I could muster was Gaga and he said that was ok. So it stuck throughout my whole life. He would even sign his emails, love GaGa. And GaGa taught me many things about life. Not really through his words. He never really was a speaker and one for Long speeches. I learned so much through his actions. He was fiercely loyal to the one thing that mattered most in life to him: his family. That started with his wife and children. He worked 3 jobs to make sure there was a roof over their heads, food on the table, and clothes on their back. He put them before himself every day of his life. He exemplified what it meant to be a husband and a parent. And for me..I was lucky, he was my grandfather and the closest thing to father figure I had growing up. I never knew my dad growing up, but Gaga raised me as a son and also spoiled me like every grandfather spoils their grandson.
Through him, I learned the value of hard work and resiliency. As a child, I would mostly see him at night if I heard him eating his dinner around 1am because he was home for a few hours in between his jobs.
Yet, there was one thing I didn’t learn. This is kind of embarrassing, but I never could make a tie as well as him. As a kid it was always easier to let him do it. As a teen and adult, that continued. I’d even bring new ties to him so he could make them. Now, yesterday and today, I had to make my own tie for the very first time and it was to attend his funeral. Almost poetic how that happened.
I hope I did a good enough job so that he’d be proud.
And now it’s my hope that each day from today I can make him proud with everything I do. He gave up so much of himself for me and the rest of his family. The only way I know how to thank him now is to work hard, stay loyal to the people and things that matter, have a huge heart, and to do the right thing even in the face of adversity. Im really not able to truly capture into words how thankful and blessed I was to have you in my life as my grandfather. It is my goal now, with you watching, to show you and make you as proud of me as I am of you.
