The Last Day

The morning of May 14, 2005, I woke up to the savory smell of hickory smoked bacon, scrambled eggs, and freshly baked cinnamon rolls. I ran downstairs in my button up pajamas. I was the first one to the table for the first time ever, I had beaten my older brother there. It wasn't normal to have so many different options for breakfast at my house, so I didn't know what to expect or what was happening.

Back then I didn't know what would happen at the end of the day. I didn't know who I was going to see or what I was going to do. I wish I would have known, but I was just a kid. So, after I had finished eating I had asked my mom why she had made so much food for only three kids.

“Grandpa is coming over to eat and then take you out for the day,” she said.

I squealed and my heart filled with joy. My grandpa Bob is still today one of the most important people that has ever been apart of my life. There were so many things I wish could have happened that day. I remember it so clearly. This day will be with me forever.  Instead of just doing boring everyday things on that very last day, I would have done every one of his favorite hobbies.

I wake up on November 1, 2017 to the sound of pots and pans smacking against each other. I run downstairs expecting to see my mom making breakfast. I sit down at the island in the kitchen and as the person on the other side stands up from below getting pans out I realize that is isn't my mom. It’s my grandpa standing there with a silver cookie sheet in his hands.

“Goodmorning, Rileigh,” he says.

“What…what are you doing here?”

It had been 12 years since I had seen him standing there in the kitchen. I was so shocked, I didn’t know if I was just seeing things or not. He said he would be here only for a short amount of time so I shouldn't ask anymore questions. I missed that about him. He never wanted to waste anytime doing things that wouldn't help make the day go any better.

We stayed in the kitchen baking cookies for about an hour. Too bad grandma couldn't be there to help us… they never turn out very good when we are the only ones making them. After that we played cards and did as many puzzles as we could fit on the dining room table. Grandpa kept checking his watch to keep track of time, which brought me back to the reality that he would have to leave at the end of the day. But that did not stop us from talking about the different types of changes that have occurred since we last spoke like presidents, new technology and our lives. Believe me, it was a long talk because grandpa always has something to say about everything.  

We then decided to go over to his house. The leaves outside needed raked and grandpa had wished to see the flowers he had planted, but by this time they were dried up and wilted. After we finished all of the outside work that needed to be done we headed inside to make up some of my grandma's homemade hot chocolate. We sat down in the living room to watch T.V. Grandpa was looking around for his chair and had asked me why it wasn't sitting in its corner anymore.

“Well… after you left everyone wanted to sit there in that spot, and after a while it just got too worn out and we couldn't use it anymore. I mean, all of the little kids climbing around on it probably didn't help that much either,” I explained.

A faint smile came to his face. “Oh, well I suppose that's alright,” he said as he checked his watch again.

We sat there watching Christmas movies in November and I realized that he was just as crazy as the rest of us. He loved anything that had to do with Christmas, especially when it came time for church on Sunday mornings and he got to sing Christmas carols in the choir. I can't quite remember him in church mostly because I would never be able to stay there and pay attention for that long without my mom having to take me out of church. But, everyone tells me that you could always hear him and that my older brother sounds a lot like him, so that is how I imagine it.

By this time it was 9 o'clock and I realized that soon he would have to go. He drove me back to my house and then I got ready for bed. I had spent nearly 13 straight hours with him and it seemed as if I had been with him for only a few minutes. He told me that when I woke back up in the morning I wouldn't remember a single thing about what had happened today. I was disappointed, but at least I could enjoy it for now.

He sat with me until I fell asleep. I tried so hard to stay awake that night. When I woke up in the morning he was gone, but over on my nightstand was an old rusted watch that I hadn't seen in years. I picked it up and looked at it. It was the same watch that my grandpa had worn everyday since I had known him. I may not have remembered what happened that day, but I do know that my grandpa will be with me everyday for the rest of my life.