Twenty three years ago I lost the most important person in my life unexpectedly and suddenly, I was devastated, my world was shattered. I was 20 years old and I still needed her more than she will ever know, she was my world. There is not one day that goes by that I don’t think about her and wish that we would have had more time together.

My Grandma Kyle meant the world to me, she was my grandmother, my mother and my best friend. We would spend hours talking, she truly cared about what was going on in my life. We shared secrets and stories, she had the face of an angel, a smile that lit up the room and a laugh that was contagious.

When I was a kid I was always with her it was my favourite place to be. As a teenager not much changed, I can’t count how many times her and I would go and do her errands. She drove and I would get her prescriptions, her mail and whatever else she needed or wanted. We’d stop and have lunch on the way to the grocery store usually at The Shed in Port Dover (Ontario), then we would go get her groceries. I would take her grocery list and the money and go in and get all of the things on the list, usually at the bottom of that list the word „pop“ was written, that was for me and it was her way of telling me to get 2 cans of Nestea that I drank – it always made me laugh.

I would bring out the groceries and put them in the car, then we would drive back to her place, I would help her get inside and settled then go back to the car for the groceries, bring them in and put them away for her. This was our routine and I would give anything to be able to spend one more day with her doing this.

I hung out with her and her friends, we would all go for dinner together. Her and I would watch TV together and just hang out. She loved pizza but none of her friends did so we would order pizza and watch movies together. I know it was one of her favourite things we did together, it was one of my favourites too. I went to two proms and each time we drove to Port Dover so she could see me all dressed up, I knew how important that was to her, it was important to me, she was a huge part of every aspect of my life.

She never had a lot of money, money’s irrelevant to me. It was the time we spent together and the love that we had for each other that made our relationship what it was. It was loving someone else more than yourself, she would do anything for me and I would do anything for her. She taught me so much, so much more than she ever knew. She taught me how to love unconditionally and that is priceless.

I know this is long, but today I want to celebrate her and everything she was and still is to me. I loved her more than anything in this world and I still do.

Julie

Thanks, Julie, to give me the permission to publish this wonderful memory.