Grandpa Curious If You Are Still “Attending Florida State”

Your Monday class got canceled and you couldn’t be happier. Lacking any social life to call your own, you call your parents and tell them you’ll be coming home this weekend. Almost immediately, they bring up the prospect of going to visit your grandpa. He loves catching up with you and talking about how you played baseball six years ago, so of course, out of pure guilt, you agree. However, it’s not until Sunday afternoon, sitting in a leather armchair watching “The Maltese Falcon” for the fifth time, that you begin to understand the consequences of your actions: Grandpa, in his 60 years of life, still hasn’t quite figured out how to carry a conversation.

“So, how’s high school treating you? Are you a junior or a senior? Oh, you graduated. You’re already in college? It feels like yesterday you were sitting in my lap watching cartoon movies,” said your grandpa who definitely attended your high school graduation. “Oh, that’s right. Where are you studying? What are you studying? Still Florida State? Biology? How are you liking it?” asked G-pops, anxiously waiting for you to respond while scrolling through the last all-access cable package still purchased in this country. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure you’ll find your people eventually. And, you know, you shouldn’t feel bad about not getting into the University of Florida. Plenty of people live perfectly average lives just as happy as people who are actually successful.”

“You shouldn’t pay him any mind. He’s getting older and doesn’t really know what he’s saying,” noted your mother, trying to subdue your quiet resentment for her father. “Dinner is only four hours from now; just keep it together, please. He doesn’t have that much time left and is relatively fragile. I know he’s only 60, but his next 30 years are still a very small amount of time in the grand scheme of things. You don’t want to go the rest of your life knowing that your final memories with him were negative ones,” said your mom before going over to rescue your sister from another conversation about the roses your grandpa is growing this year.

Your mother is right. You think back to memories from your childhood. Specifically, sitting on your grandpa’s lap watching cartoon movies. That’s some of the most fun you’ve ever had. When you leave his house, you give your grandpa a big hug and kiss on the forehead, even though he hates physical contact with any men but particularly you. Your newfound appreciation of him is not necessarily from fear of him leaving, but from the happiness that he will be around for a little while longer. You just hope that next time he lets you watch a movie that isn’t about World War II.