Sunday Family Stories - 10 things I learned from my Pompa (Grandfather)

As the first grandchild born into my family, which now has sprouted to 13 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren for my grandparents I claim to be the one who has known my grandfather the longest... and the girl who christened him 'Pompa'

I'm guessing that when I was too little to remember, that I couldn't decide whether to call him grandpa or papa, so I combined them... but one never knows what is in the mind of a precocious toddler... it morphed somewhere to plain old grandpa but he's always been my Pompa...

So what did I learn from him?

Lots... but I will pick ten of my favourites to share with you today...

1. If you want something bad enough, you will work for it...  my grandfather started working at 8 years of age, quit school before he finished 8th grade and worked full time for the rest of his life until he semi-retired at age 75 and finally retired just a few years ago... As my grandmother wrote in her memoirs, "He never owned a bicycle and by the time he could afford one, he wanted a car.  Education was important to him and he made sure that the children got the best possible one so that they could enjoy a better life than he had."
2. Which brings me to my second point- get an education and stay in school... he matched dollar for dollar every scholarship we earned from other sources, allowing me to go to university without debts, and to earn my bachelors degree.
   
3. More personally, he taught me to take time to spend with family - if you've read previous posts, you will have read about 'Iwannastay', the cottage that he and my grandmother purchased so that their kids would have a place away from the city...  Despite the fact that he regularly worked 60-80 hour weeks sometimes, he made the time to get away and be with family at the cottage - taking us for boat rides, teaching us to water-ski and fish, or just hanging out on the deck.
   
4. "Stay out of the way of hot spoons" ... if you sat next to Pompa at the cottage kitchen table for breakfast, you were likely to be treated to the 'hot spoon' treatment if you weren't paying enough attention to him... he would stir his coffee and then 'attack', with love...
   
5. You're never to old to have a birthday party!  My grandfather was 60 before he had a real 'birthday party' with all his friends and family.  I was especially proud to be the lone grandchild, at about 11 years old, to be invited to come to the adult party... and give a speech to him (one of my first writing/speaking engagements)
6. Naps are good - Siestas are fine in Pompa's book, especially during golf, baseball or other sporting events... but lead into the next two things I learned...
7. Never wake a sleeping Pompa - especially to ask about going for a boat ride to the "lodge"... it inevitably makes your time before embarking on the special trip much longer...
8. Never change the channel... it might wake the sleeping Pompa and he was 'watching through his eyelids'
9. Keep everything in good repair... even when he was 'off work' at home or at the cottage, if something needed fixing, he didn't procrastinate or make it worse...
10. Take the time to make fabulous memories - and cherish every one... this one is the hardest for me to write about and probably the most serious... as my grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease several years ago, but as I write down my memories my grandmother is sharing them with him and its helping me to remember the special times, places and memories we share...

Now that I've shared my top ten lessons, I'd love for you to meet my Pompa in pictures:

On the deck at the cottage (Summer 07)

With me and my Grandma at my wedding, 1998