Bringing with my grandparents was the best decision of my life

In July 2022, I returned to House of my grandparentsthinking that it would be temporary.

After a decade for university and work, I saw it as a reset before finding my next place. My plan was simple: settle in my new job, find an apartment and move. But what I thought was a short stay has become one of the Best decisions in my life.

We have always been close

I have always been close to my grandparents. Like the The oldest grandson And only girl, I was their baby. Even when I lived far away, I visited during the holidays, still at home. It doesn’t matter how long, being with them felt at home.

My grandmother was excited when I returned. Before moving, she called to ask: “What color do you want your room?” She insisted to personalize my room. I laughed at the idea of ​​being in their thirties and having my grandmother Decorate my roomBut we settled on pink, which is my favorite color.

It was about the simple joys of life

Live with my grandparents It was great adventures but small simple joys.

Every morning, my grandmother asked: “Do you want grains and eggs?” Even if she knew that the answer was still yes. Cuisine was her tongue of love and make sure we had a hot meal brought him joy.

But Saturdays were for Cracker Barrel. She liked the breakfast of the grandmother’s sampler, and we went every weekend. My mother has often joined, transforming it into a family tradition. I used to joke that I was tired of Cracker Barrel, but she never moved.

With hindsight, I am so happy that she did not do it.

These outings were not only on the meal. She liked to choose greeting cards and take her time to find the perfect. She often wrote notes to me, reminding me how loved I was. I always have them all.

At the time, I didn’t think much about these routines. Now they mean everything.

My grandmother is dead

I moved home thinking that I had all the time in the world. Exactly two years later, on July 31, 2024, my grandmother went to the hospital while I was at a conference. That night, we learned the diagnosis: stadium cancer 4. It only had 30 days with it.

A month. It was all the time that we had to undertake each conversation. How do you say goodbye to someone who was right here?

Now it’s just me and my grandfather. Our routines have changed, but I cherished them as much. Every morning, he wakes me up with the same sentence: “Don’t sleep too long, you have to get up!” We take readers, let’s talk about life and start stories from his childhood and his trip to Chicago in the 1960s.

He always tells me how proud he is, and I hang a little more every time.

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Living with them changed my perspective

Before going home, I was always focused on the next step: hunting my career goals and my personal steps and constantly checking the boxes. But in the past two years have changed my point of view.

I learned that success is not just about going ahead but being present. It is a question of realizing that the small moments that we often neglect are those which count the most.

My grandmother always said to me: “Do everything from a place of love.” This is how she lived and I wear this lesson with me every day.

If I could return to 2022, I would say to take everything. I sat with my grandmother for a single conversation. I would let it drag me to Cracker Barrel more than once a week. I would hang on every moment a little longer.

But since I can’t, I do the best thing. I cherish every second with my grandfather. I listen to his stories, I laugh at her jokes and I present myself because one day, it will be the moments to which I will come back, just as I do with my grandmother now.