Grandma's 100th Birthday

Grandma's 100th Birthday

Have you ever regretted doing something, or better yet...not doing something? The one thing that I will admit to screwing up in my life is missing my Grandma's 100th birthday party. Don't get me wrong now, that is definitely not the only thing I have done wrong in my 56 years here on earth. I have made plenty of mistakes, but in retrospect the only thing that really bothers me is that one party that I missed!

I can come up with several good excuses for not going to the party. You see...the party was in Connecticut, and I live in North Carolina. It's not that I didn't want to make a twelve hour drive up there, stay for one day, turn around and drive another twelve hours back again. That wasn't the issue at all. It wasn't the fact that if I was to make this drive, I would have to put new tires on the car and get a tune-up, that was no big deal. It didn't matter that I had just started a new job and did not have any vacation time available yet. I could just call in sick, no problem there.

I thought about flying up to Connecticut, but that idea was quickly ruled out. Way too expensive. That would never fit into our budget. Even if I went by myself and left my wife at home it still was too much money. Talking about money, what about a birthday present? What in the world do you buy for someone who has been around for 100 years? There just couldn't possibly be anything that she needed.

The more I think about it the more I realize that I cheated Grandma out of the one thing that she needed most...LOVE. That's all that she really wanted, to be loved by her family. She had outlived her husband, all of her brothers and sisters and most of her children. Grandma came from the 'old country', born and raised in Calabria, Italy. Family was very important to her. I remember growing up and going to Grandma's house every weekend. There would be dozens of children there, all of them cousins. We would have a great time playing and there was always plenty of good food to eat.

Today, I couldn't even tell you how many cousins I have. Everyone has moved somewhere else and lost track of each other. We all become so involved with our own little worlds and hustle and bustle of everyday life that we forget about our not so immediate family.

I don't have any other grandparents that are living, so I don't have to worry about screwing up like that again. I have learned a very valuable lesson from this. Every day we are here on this earth is a very special day. We only get to go around once, if we pass up the chance to say I love you, or thanks so much...that chance is gone forever. Don't blow it like I did with Grandma. I never really did get to know her as a person. I remember her from my childhood, but there are decades missing, where I had no contact at all with her. I'm sure there were many wonderful stories that Grandma would have shared with me, if only I had taken the time to listen.

The opportunity has come and gone...I will never have another chance to sing happy birthday to my Grandma on her very special 100th birthday celebration. I missed the chance to tell her that I loved her and really enjoyed all those good times we had at her house growing up. I take comfort in knowing that she is once again with her family in Heaven, and one day I too will be there with her. When that day arrives, I will be so happy to see her again that I will run up to her and give her a big hug and a kiss. The first thing I will say is "Grandma, I love you...I am so sorry for missing your special birthday party that day... please forgive me."

This has been bothering me for several years now, and I'm glad that I am finally able to share this with others. It is with a heavy heart and teary eyes that I am writing these words, and I hope and pray that you don't ever have to make an apology like that to anyone.