Saturday, March 4, 2023
One memory I have of my Grandpa Andy is going to Waffle House with him. We had never really experienced Waffle House before, and this is one of my earliest memories with him. It also happens to be one of my few memories with him. I was around the age of 8/9 roughly. We met up there together and I remember the busy atmosphere of the morning/cooking chatter. The tables were sort of cramped together, and you could see the workers cooking. Yes- truly a Waffle House experience. We sat by the window, and it was a very nice sunny day out. He and my dad chatted very casually. They were just catching up on life and sharing things. What really stuck out to my little 8/9 year-old eyes was how familial he and my dad were. It had been years since they had seen each other, but they interacted with love.
I remember thinking how weird it was that this man was my grandpa, but yet I was only just meeting him. He looked goofy and had a funny accent. He was tall to my short self, and he gave very warm hugs. I remember being excited that he didn’t like to drink liquids as he ate, because I didn’t like it either. I found it interesting he was extroverted and actively enjoyed the Waffle House experience throughout his life. And I found the fact he wasn’t a technology person bizarre, as I grew up on screens.
I was worried on the car ride that I wouldn’t think of him as my grandpa, or that he’d be mean. However, when I saw how genuinely happy he was to see us, and my dad’s loving reaction, I instinctively felt love for my grandpa too. Even though that memory is just the memory of a simple breakfast and catch up it really stuck out to me as a childhood moment. I love the simplicity/mundaneness of that morning. I look back on it thinking of how tranquil (despite the busy atmosphere) and warm it was. It is a memory I cherish, but I know it’s likely romanticized. I wish I could have made more memories with such an interesting one-of-a-kind person.
