46,778,400 Minutes
Posted: July 8, 2010 at 6:09 pmThat would be 525,600 minutes (like in the song from Rent) multiplied by 89 – the number of years we celebrated for my G-Pa’s birthday last night. The man amazes me.
He is 89 going on 25 and truly lives life to the fullest. As much as my family jokes that he will be around longer than all of us, it still saddens me that there is no way to truly know how much longer we have with him. He is healthy and strong, but there’s no escaping the circle of life. Okay I need to stop with the depressing talk and instead focus on the good. Like the many things I have learned from watching my G-Pa and the vivaciousness with which he lives his life.
1. Stick to your beliefs - My G-Pa is pretty old school in some of his ways of thinking, but they are his beliefs and he will not change them. I admire that. He holds strongly to his ideals and consistently lives his life according to them. Many people can spout ways they think others should live or things people shouldn’t do…but not many will live them day to day in their own lives. We should all have something we feel strongly about and refuse to back down from.
2. Love- He lost his wife in 1996 a few months before his 50th wedding anniversary and as heartbroken as he was, he continued thriving. He even went on to find love in another woman a few years ago, but sadly she passed on too. He never lets what life gives him keep him from loving though. He loves to pour it out on others, including his family. What he has given and done for us over the years cannot be measured because he understands love is not something you tally, but that you simply give.
3. Laugh – My G-Pa has one of the best senses of humor I know. He is 89 but can crack jokes with the best of them. I remember for his 80th birthday some old women who persistently watch the closed circuit lobby video footage at the condos we stay in were nagging him saying he hired strippers to come see him. Those “strippers” we found out were my cousins & I coming home from a karaoke bar at around 11 at night in jean shorts and tank tops. This annoyed my G-Pa so he had to get back at those “old bitties”. His plan? To have us really dress as hookers, take us down in the lobby and in front of the video camera pass out a bunch of cash to each of us then tell every man he crossed by in the condo that he was a lucky man and that we all left smiling. That shut up those “old bitties” (who mind you were 20 years younger than him). It became a running joke and one year we even made Hank’s Hoes tshirts.
4. You don’t have to follow the rules and be “good” all the time – He will wake up and go walking for 3 or so miles every day. He will do what he can to care for his health, but he will also have a good time. Because after all, another one of his rules…is you have to have two martinis before you order your meal. 😉 Life just isn’t fun without any vices.
5. Don’t judge a restaurant only by their martinis – Okay this one is more by default. G-Pa loves his martinis and places he can get good ones. We went to his favorite restaurant last night for his birthday (chosen for the martini) and it was a disappointment. They had a veggie plate option where you could order 3 sides and a salad and it also came with dessert. Sounded good. Things started off fine with a decent enough salad.
Nothing special, but it was crisp and fresh tasting and had the dressing on the side so I didn’t have to eat swimming leaves. Then for my “entree” I opted for Pear + Cheese, Sweet Potato Soufflé, and Brussel Sprouts as my three chosen items.
In my mind the pear and cheese would be a fresh (not canned) pear with some sort of Brie or nice cheese. Not Kraft shredded cheddar sprinkled on top and with…get this…mayonnaise on the side!! Ewww! I tasted it and was like “what IS this???” When my sister tasted it too and said mayo I about gagged. Who does that?! The sprouts were overcooked and bland. The sweet potato was no souffle, but overly mashed sweet potato with some raisins tossed in for good measure. Blah. Blech. Ich. Ew. And I was craving a good veggie meal!
The stars were aligned against me though and determined a healthy meal was not in my future. Instead my dinner would consist of toasted coconut peanut butter pie to round out my salad and three bites of the disgusting sorry array above.
As you can imagine..even without a formal dinner, I still left that restaurant with a satisfied stomach. 😉
- What is the most disappointing meal you have ever had?
- Who is someone you look up to and admire?
- What is your favorite musical? I badly want to see either Rent, Hair, Wicked, or Chicago in NYC one day. I think that would be so cool.
Tags: dining out, family activities, relationships
wow, what an incredible and FULL life! i laughed out loud at the hank’s hoes shirts…i can see my grandpas blushing!
You are so lucky to have your grandfather still in your life. He sounds like a fantastic person, and I have a feeling he’s rubbed off on you. One super disappointing meal was at this place that everyone just raves about in my home town. We went there after the races with 2 other couples last year. Not only did we have the absolute worst service, my vegetarian dish option was touted as being super fantastic, full of veggies….turned out to be a $10+ quesadilla filled with goats cheese and….that’s it. Not a green veggie, red veggie, not a veggie in site.
That post made me tear up. Your grandfather sounds amazing…just like my grandparents. I love them so much and the thought of them not being here one day makes me so sad. Its good we appreciate them so much now.
I love when I have dessert for dinner. Doesn’t happen often, but when it does, its always satisfying.
I love musicals….I just saw the Lion King for the first time and it was amazing. Mamma Mia I have seen 3 times and I think is the most fun musical I’ve seen. I am dying to see Jersey Boys and Wicked.
I loved the story about your grandpa. I was cracking up the entire time. Your G-Pa reminds me so much of my Pepa it kills me. Pepa would be so jealous of the We Heart Hank shirts! Thank you for reminding me what a gift it is to still have our grandparents around!
Awwwwwww, it is so sweet the way to talk about your G-Pa!! 🙂 He seems like such a fun man with such a zest for life!! Thanks for sharing more about him with us!! There is no love quite like that of grandparents.
I think that pear, cheddar, mayo combo is a southern thing?? Maybe?? I don’t know, but my mom used to have that out at dinner for my dad and her. Blech. She knew better than to offer it to me. Looks so nasty, haha!!
Your G-pa sounds like an amazing man! I love the story of him having you and your cousins dress scandalously, too funny!
I worship Rent, I know every single word. Phantom too! I’m dying to see Wicked!
That’s so funny that you mentioned that song from Rent. They played that in our spin class a week ago and I cannot get it out of my head! I love all of your pictures. And you are right, there is definitely something to learn from the people who are much older than us.
The picture of you guys in the shirts is pretty darn funny!
Most disappointing meal: A steakhouse in Minneapolis that is famous, but we think its overrated.
Look up to: Any strong women, I so admire those who have accomplished amazing things. Whether it is raising amazing kids, being the first________ (insert anything here) and those who are passionate about what they do
Favorite Musical Song; Anything from Mama Mia or Wicked (both of which I have seen in NY)
Aw. This post reminded me of my great grandpa. I was lucky enough to have him in my life till I was 17. He lived to be 96 and was healthy and very with it for all but the last 6 months.
I loved his laughter, his zest for laugh, his love for the “younger ladies “(80 year olds), his work ethic, and his sense of right and wrong. Just a beautiful man.
My Grandpa turned 89 yesterday. He is amazing…plays raquetball everyday with a 65 year old partner! He is completely inspiring!!
I LOVE musicals….my favorite is probably going an old school one: Music Man.
Happy birthday to your Grandpa!
I love musicals!! My faves are Wicked and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Oh my gosh….your grandpa sounds absolutely amazing. He sounds like a wonderful man who is living it up as we all should. Happy Birthday to him, and I hope he celebrates all weekend with lots of martinis! 🙂
I really admire my dad. Not only because he truly is one of the kindest, most giving men I know, but because I really made something of himself after a rough (at times) childhood. I am so blessed to know him, much less have him as my father!
I LOVE Musicals! All of them! My favorites have been Oklahoma (yes) and Phantom of the Opera. I really want to see Mamma Mia (loved the movie!).
Ugh that sounds so nasty!!
Some of my favorite musicals are A Chorus Line, Hair, and Chicago.
I saw Hair on Broadway last year and it was my boyfriend’s FIRST musical, ever. I told him “You are spoiled from now on”. Hair was absolutely incredible!!
I think I need to start drinking more martinis….or any martinis at all! My grannie is going to be 88 and she’s a huge martini drinker, too! 🙂 89..wow! Happy Birthday to your Grandpa! I love those T-shirts — that’s hilarious! Poor guy losing his wife just before their 50th…I can’t even imagine 🙁 He’s lucky to have such a wonderful family though…and he looks GREAT!!
Wicked is my favorite musical and I sooo look up to my mom. She’s my hero 🙂
AWWW your grandpa is so cute!!! He reminds me of my grandpa in many ways – especially the young at heart part. Mine bought a jetski a couple years ago for the lake in Maine and probably uses it just as much as us grandkids if not more! So cute 🙂
The Hank’s Hos thing is too funny!
My favorite musical is Les Miserables.
Aww, now I want to call my Grandpa! What a great way to celebrate someone so important to your life.
happy birthday to your grandpa!!!
Live life to the fullest. If my g-pa every had a posse like Hank’s Hoes, I’d be floored. This is a true celebration of life.
those shirts are HOT. LOL.
I love love love Aida. I still haven’t seen Wicked though. I was a little disappointed by Rent.
This was such a lovely post and tribute to your grandpa…I love his words/motto to live by!! Very practical – the picture of you guys in those shirts is great. Sorry your meal was such a disappointment! That’s always unfortunate when it happens. Its been a while for me, but I hate it when I order something that sounds really good and it comes out tasting bland. I always feel like I could’ve made myself something a lot better at home.
Wow…a favorite musical – thats hard to pick! I will always love “Grease” but Chicago and Mamma Mia were fantastic, too.
RENT! It’s amazing. I’ve seen it twice and I loved it! I even saw it in LA with Doogie Howser playing the lead. Granted, you have to accept the language/lifestyle choices, but the music and the story is fantastic!
[…] memory that never fails to make you laugh. Remember the Hank’s Hoes story about my grandfather? That […]