One thing you’ll learn very quickly is that I absolutely adore my grandfather.  Most folks who know him feel the same way.  He is one of the most gentle, kind and loving people I know. He is the epitome of a good man

It’s rare that I fail to find a really good story where he’s concerned.  From the things he says, to the way he impacts people, he’s just a great source for a great story.

Recently he had to visit his orthopedic surgeon and have shot in his knee. He had surgery a few years ago from a fall and has residual pain and swelling.

I was visiting the day after his appointment and asking him about his appointment.

“Well, let me tell you.  That doctor wants me to use the walker instead of the cane. I’m not ready to use the walker. I don’t think I need it. I didn’t tell him but I kindly help people around here and if I use the walker, I can’t help them.” He said.

Then he continued, “My neighbor, the lady beside me, is in a wheelchair and she can’t get around well.  I generally push her to and from the elevator and then back again after dinner.  There’s also an elderly man that’s crippled and I help him sometimes too.  You see, if I had to use that walker then I wouldn’t have an extra hand to help them.”

“Popaw, I understand and I know you like to help people.”

Glancing at the walker, sitting at the end of his bed, he said, “I know one day I’ll have to use it but I’m not going to until I need it.”

When I was telling Mom about our conversation, she said that the staff, on numerous occasions, have asked him not to help people because he could fall and hurt himself.

I said, “He’s always been about helping others and that’s not going to change now.  He’d rather fall and hurt himself as opposed to someone else falling and getting hurt.”

I also told her that he wasn’t bragging saying that he was “kindly” helping people, it was his way of saying, “I sort of help people”

Mark Twain says, “Kindness is what the deaf can hear and the blind can see”.

I am so thankful for the example of kindness Popaw has consistently displayed.