Some of you reading this blog (if any) may know my maternal granddad. He's an incredibly impressive man and has succeeded more in his lifetime that most people ever will. That statement doesn't give him the credit he deserves, but I feel it's the best, most efficient way to sum him up. However, in an effort to preserve his legacy, or MY view of his legacy, I'll spend some time telling you more details about him.
First of all, you need to understand that we don't always get along. He can drive me bat-shit crazy. Why, you ask? Because he is stubborn, relentless, opinionated, pessimistic, realistic, practical, and incredibly self-motivated and driven. This wouldn't be a problem if I possessed these characteristics as strongly as him. However, I'm almost always optimistic (at least outwardly). In fact, probably annoyingly optimistic-which is completely opposite of him. I'm also a dreamer. His realistic and practical view of life frequently clashes with mine and we often disagree on what I should be doing. I have a hard time with self-motivation (just making myself keep up with this blog has been a challenge), while he can't seem to stop going and succeeding. And, just when you think he's hashed out all of these issues with you, such as your opposite view of politics, life choices, outlook, etc, he comes back and hits you with this relentless effort to change your mind and impart more of his opinion on you. But, what I have to admit, is that these characteristics are largely what have made him so successful in life. And that makes me feel so many different ways: proud of him; frustrated because he's probably right; motivated to succeed; scared to fail; intimidated; and worried about a future without him.
I've been lucky. I'm the oldest grandchild on my mother's side and the second oldest on my dad's. Because of this (and the fact that my parents had me in their early 20s), I am fortunate to be 30 and have all four of my grandparents still alive. I have a close relationship with each of them, maybe closer than some of the other grandchildren have. This being said, my granddad isn't afraid to critique me and had admitted to being tougher on me than the others. There have been times he's hurt my feelings and all I wanted to do was either run away crying or cuss him. He can be so tough, but I guess it's because of the life he had.
See, he was born in a time when life was tougher than it is now. People who couldn't keep up didn't make it. There were no governmental handouts and society didn't feel sorry for you if you were lazy and didn't try. I think you've probably heard about these people-some refer to them as the greatest generation that's ever lived. They may be right. My granddad helped his dad keep their farm operating and raise the younger siblings (which is no easy feat to accomplish) while also maintaining excellent grades in school so he could later be accepted at Cornell University in New York City. He says it's no big deal-Cornell had to accept some people from the south to keep up with quotas, and he just happened to be the one. I think it's a big deal. First, did they really have quotas and such during the 1940s? Second, he is smart. Really smart. And got into a school that was producing some of the leading doctors of the early-mid 20th century. That in itself is cool-and another one of those things that intimidate me. Fortunately, I'm not going to be a medical doctor, so I won't ever need to compare my medical practice to his!
He's tough because of his childhood and everything else that ensued: He went to war, fought, came home and continued to study medicine, married, had 5 children, lost his wife to cancer (which was pretty tough for a doctor), started raising 5 children/preteens on his own while maintaining a medical practice, remarried, had a 6th baby and started sending the other 5 off to college, continued to successfully practice medicine while becoming active in philanthropic organizations, became the granddad to yours truly and 12 others, eventually retired (hard, hard decision), became INCREDIBLY active in philanthropic organizations and started opening clinics for underprivileged children, got cancer, beat it a few different times, and travelled to every continent on the planet. All the while, he's maintained a successful home, kept a large family together without any tragic incidents, and still hasn't given up. However, the cancer he has now is doing it's best to bring him down. And that's pissing him off.
(More to come later. Gotta sleep now. Hope you enjoy learning about my granddad!)
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