So close to the beginning of October I was unfortunate enough to lose my grandfather. The part about it that really sucks, besides losing someone I'll forever admire and respect, is that up until the day that he died I hadn't seen him in months. This wasn't because I couldn't go see him but because I took him and my grandmother for granted and neglected to go visit them. I was too busy with my own life and college so I just pushed them aside in because of my own laziness. The irony of this? The day he passed my brother, who hadn't been home in months, and I finally decided to pay them a visit so we wouldn't fall into their bad graces. We showed up to my grandparents house only to discover they had just left to go into the woods where we had no idea how to get to. We were too lazy to find them and decided to head back to our respective homes hours away. Not even 5 minutes into our drives home my brother threw on his flashers and spun out back towards home. Not really thinking about it turned around and followed. I came to find out something had happened to my grandfather and became worried. After frantically searching for the wooded area and running as fast as we possibly could hoping it was the correct way to go, we were reunited with our grandparents. If there's one thing I've learned its that you shouldn't take those in your life for granted no matter how unimportant they seem to your story at the time. Sometimes they have a way of reminding you that your story isn't the only one being told. In my case I was reminded the hard way by coming to the side of my grandfather who had just died of a heart attack minutes before we found them. The person that I respected so much but had neglected out of sheer laziness was dead and I never even got to say goodbye. It's hard to say what I feel about the situation to be honest, but the whole point of this post was to share something that I'll always hold on to from now on. When going through some old notes of his my mother found a few lessons that now that I think about it applied to him quite well. I'd like to give you all what I can only consider my grandfathers last words. I hope they help you in some fashion and thanks for reading my tale of woe. Lessons from a good man - Live each day to the fullest. Get the most from each hour, each day, and each age of your life then you can look forward with confidence, and back without regrets. - Be yourself, but be your best self. Dare to be different and follow your own star. - Don't be afraid to be happy. Enjoy what is beautiful. Love with all your heart and soul. Believe that those you love, love you. - Forget what you have done for your friends and remember what they have done for you. Disregard what the world owes you and concentrate on what you owe the world. - When you are forced with a decision, make the decision as wisely as possible - then forget it. The moment of absolute certainty never comes. -And above all else remember that God helps those who help themselves. Act as if everything depended upon you, and pray as if everything depended upon God. Thank you for reading if you made it this far and no I will not put a TL;DR