bittersweet memories

Grandpa K and Me
somewhere around the time of this story.

I recently moved into a new role at work. When I did, mom said: Too bad Grandpa K isn't here so you can tell him. And I told her, I know, I thought of that, too... 

When I graduated from college, I worked in retail for about 9 months while I looked for a job that I wanted. I figured, I have a job, so I can be a little picky.

So, when a friend introduced me to my first real "big girl" job after college at the company I am still at today, I was pretty pumped that I had found what I was looking for.

Grandpa was in the nursing home at the time. I went to visit him and told him all about it shortly after I started. He was so proud - you would have thought I had become the youngest CEO on the planet. But I hadn't - it was just a normal job, but one that I was excited about and that related to my degree. I remember that he asked me to write down my job title so that he could remember what it was. I did, and we put it in his top drawer so he would know where it was.

The next time I went to visit, people who worked at the nursing home were stopping me and telling me Congrats on your new job! and Your grandpa told me what a great job you got!  and Your grandpa is so proud of you! Apparently he had been pulling out the piece of paper with my job title on it and showing it to anyone who would look and listen. :)

A few months after I started, a job a step up opened and I moved into that role. I again told Grandpa, and he made sure to pull out the piece of paper from his drawer. We crossed out the old title and wrote the new one down and put it back in the drawer. And, again, he showed it to anyone who would look and listen.

Not too long after that, Grandpa passed away. Since then, I have moved into 3 new roles at my company and, each time, I think about how proud Grandpa would have been and wish he was here so I could update his little sheet of paper. And I'm proud to have had a Grandpa who loved me so much and wasn't afraid to share how proud he was.