When your young you really don't think about death or anyone close to you dying. You just expect everything to always stay the same. When I was young I was never faced with death or the concept that someone important to me would leave. I have learned that many experiences in life can teach you. This experience is one of them. .
When I was seven years old my great grandfather was told that he had bone cancer. Of course I didn't know what that meant I just knew that he was very sick. He lived with my great grandmother in the Sequoia Mountains so I didn't live very close to him but emotionally I felt very close. About six months later my family and I went to visit for Thanksgiving.
I walked in the front door of his house and saw him lying in his recliner. His face was pale white, and he looked so sick. Even the feeling of the room felt different. It didn't seem like the warm house that smelled of my great grandma's famous raisin bread. Instead it felt cold and smelled of vomit. This was the first time I realized how seriously sick he was. .
I always thought of him as being this strong super hero type but when I saw him lying there he looked so fragile and helpless. I was even afraid to give him a hug. Later the next day my aunt arrived from Texas to visit for Thanksgiving. My mom asked me if I could go outside for a while and I asked why and she told me that she needed to give my grandfather a bath. As soon as I walked out the door tears dripped down my cold face. He really was helpless. I walked for at least an hour just thinking. As I walked I found this perfect pinecone and decided to bring it home. I remember handing him the pinecone and saying, "since you can't go hiking anymore, I thought that I would bring the outdoors to you.".
That week I spent all my time with him. Sometimes I would read to him and sometimes he would read to me. We would watch old Elvis movies on TV all day because there was an Elvis marathon on.