Tribute to my Late Grandfather <3

My grandfather was born in Trinidad. His name is Stewart but we all either called him, “grandpa,” or “Stewarty Boy.” In Trinidad, it is super common to give people names other than their real name.

My earliest memories of him are around age 4, though my mother tells me we’ve been close since birth. When I was a baby and could not speak, I would communicate to my grandfather by pointing and using signals, and he understood. 

I have memories of him in the U.S. and Trinidad. 

My grandfather was one of a kind. He could be described as adventurous, generous, a little sneaky, funny, charismatic, and very organized(he drove us crazy with this one haha). He was always smiling, dancing, and happy. He never stayed upset for super long, so I have very few memories of him, angry. If I could show you the many pictures or videos of him, he was either smiling, talking, or dancing. He had such an appetite for life, even in his old age. 

In Trinidad, he would take me and my cousins for rides. He was not someone who could stay at home for long and was always on his feet. While driving around certain areas, he would point to houses and say, “that’s all allyuh family,” while we try not to laugh.

He would tell us stories and sing different tunes. One of his specialties was making fried pork. We used to beg him to make it, and were never disappointed. My grandfather loved to play card games such as “All Fours, Rummy, Go to Pack, and much more. It is very rare that he ever lost a game and his cheating game was strong too, LOL. He also was always cleaning the yard, whether it be sweeping away water, dust, and leaves or picking up leaves from the ground. It would bother him too much to leave it as it was.

When I was younger, he was in the U.S. for some time. You have to remember, my grandfather is accustomed to small island life in Trinidad where everyone knows each other and it is community-centered, so when he came to the states, he would act very foreign, and it was hilarious. He would feed the birds, and once a bird really flew into the house. He would sometimes yell people’s names in public and talk to strangers about lord knows what. When he saw a deer, rabbit, or small animal, he wanted to hunt it to eat. Also, whenever I got a cut or bruise, he SWORE putting salt on it would cure it, and he would NEVER let me escape it. 

Fun memory: My grandfather made us a cricket bat and bench out of wood in our backyard.

Funny story: my cousin’s rabbit died. What did my grandfather do?

He performed CPR, gave the rabbit a tablet with milk, and guess what? The rabbit was revived for a little but eventually died. 

But this all goes to show you how my grandfather operated. He was truly one of a kind.

Unfortunately, as my grandfather grew older, he had slight dementia. Because of this, we had to stop allowing him to drive, because he could get lost or be in a dangerous situation. He was confined to being home for about the last 10 years, and it was hard for him at first, as he was always on the go. At first, he would constantly beg to go on drives, (which people did take him on from time to time), and try to escape, but eventually, he settled.

He was still himself in that he would clean the yard, talk excessively, dance, and wander around, which was a good thing.

My last time seeing him was this past Christmas. I have to tell you, it was the quietest I’d ever seen him. He still talked, but very gently, and it was harder for him to move around compared to the past. He did seem a little sad, but once you talked to him and engaged him, he would smile and open up. He only ate a very little and lost a significant amount of weight.

I did not think it would be my last time seeing him but I did sense that his time was probably coming. I remember hugging him and taking a few selfies before heading to the airport. I was a wreck inside but kept it together.

With all of that being said, I am so thankful that God gave my grandfather 93 long years and even let us spend our last time with him for Christmas. He is the best grandfather a girl could have and I am so blessed to have had him in my life.

He is already missed so much but he is with Jesus and we will reunite.