This past weekend my hero, my Grandpa, finally got to meet Kevin (our puppy), and it was great to see him.
One of the things I have missed the most over the past year is spending time with my Grandpa.
Most Saturday's I would spend a few hours at his talking, watching sports on tv, getting fed and falling to sleep in front of the fire.
Since last March, I may have seen him on his doorstep less than 10 times.
I admire him greatly and here are a couple of lessons I have learned from him over the years, more so now I'm grown...
1. "I'd shovel s*** for a living if I had to."
I do believe that our grandparents' generation really is the greatest.
He has never been shy of hard work, especially when it has meant literal survival.
My grandpa grew up within a big family, who at the time had little money, like many other families during and post second WW2.
He married my Grandma young, they moved into their own home together. Soon they had three children and he was the sole provider. He took any job going, no matter what condition and gave everything he earned to his family.
No excuses, just got it done.
Still to this day he gives the little he has to anyone in need of it and pays his way for everything.
2. Listen.
It is too easy to become distracted.
Social media, instant messaging... all of the information ever created, accessible right in our hands at the tap of a screen.
How often are you talking to someone, for their phone to buzz in their pocket and lose 95% of their attention?
Does it feel like when you're speaking to some people, often it just seems as though they aren't actually listening, but just waiting to speak themselves?
Annoying, right?
Growing up, not much was instant for our grandparents.
Send a message? You're either relying on the turnaround of the post office, or word of mouth.
News? Tune into the radio at a certain time or wait for the next newspaper to be published, then walk to the shop to buy a copy.
Speaking to him, I know I have his full attention and out of respect, I keep my phone off.
I try to carry this across to my everyday life as much as possible, because I know how frustrating it can be on the receiving end.
Listen more and know when to speak.
3. "Shek it 'til tha loyses it." If you get dog s*** on your shoe, shake your foot until you lose it. I could speak about how much I admire him for hours, he truly is a great man. Seeing him recently just made me appreciate him all the more, and I wanted to share a few things with you all.