"Grandpa has ears that truly listen, arms that always hold, love that's never-ending, and a heart that's made of gold."

          G is for grandfather. To be brutally honest, I spent more time with Opa than I did Omi because Opa was just so cool and amazing.

          Opa was my whole world. He taught me a lot of what I know now: fishing, coloring, carpentry, math, and much more. Opa also made amazing pancakes.

          If I was to tell you about Opa it would never end, so I'll shorten it a bit for you.

          He worked on boating docks and cared for everyone around him. Opa cared so much to the point where he was strict. On the docks, he was nicknamed "Little Hitler" because he was small and extremely strict.

          It's a different story at his house. Opa is still strict but lets off a bit. There was no running in the house, no sliding down the stairs, no playing with the glass. This was all to protect us. He was simply amazing. He did everything for us, and we did nothing to pay him back.

          Opa died of cancer, but that didn't stop him. When he could, Opa would still take us fishing or go swimming with us when he could. He was the glue that held us together. Now that he's gone our family is hanging loosely on a thread, threatening to fall to pieces.

          My world crumbled when he died; I wasn't even allowed to go to his funeral. No more amazing fishing trips, coloring lessons, carpentry, or plain comfortable silence. I felt so bad on the night he died because my sister woke me up crying and I was so rude to her.

          To this day, I will still cry at the thought of him. Fishing, funerals, woodwork, boats, all of that makes me cry because he's gone. I could barely stand to write this without crying. There are so many things I wish he was here to see me do like my band concerts, fishing club, Builders Club. My mom says that Opa would be proud, and that means a lot to me.

          Every night I have a wish that I could see Opa one last time. It doesn't matter if it's a day, hour, or minute, I just want to see him again.

       If I learned anything from Opa, his death, and everything in between, it's that you can't take people and the things they do for and with you for granted. Spend as much time as you can with your friends, parents, grandparents, siblings, pets, and other family members that you can because you never know when they could be gone. Make sure you tell everyone you care and love that you love them so they know even if you think they already know it. I know that I regret not telling Opa goodbye or that I love him the last time I saw him. I took so much for granted and I can't fix it. I hope that no one ever makes the same mistakes I did.