Happy Birthday, Grandpa

Today was my Grandpa's Birthday, and while I think of him often, today I revisited some of the sweet memories I have of him. He passed away a year and a half ago, when I was a freshman. He was the first person that I was really close with that I lost, and it really hit me hard. I'm so thankful for all of the wonderful times we had and can look back on his life and smile.

I was his only granddaughter and her certainly knew how to make me feel special. He called me Leah Bella, and I can still hear his voice calling me that in his sing-songy way. He made me feel a true connection to my Italian roots with all of his stories...who knew how many of those were actually true, as he was the kind of character who would embellish to make things more interesting. Either way, I wish now that I could hear the same stories again, even though in my younger years I did an inner eye-roll when he would talk about the same things. Gosh, what I wouldn't do to hear his voice now.

My grandpa was the one who taught me to gamble...in cards and at the race track. It was so fun to watch him play poker, always taking chances and betting outrageously or not even looking at all of his cards! I always felt so special when he would ask me to play his hand when he would leave to smoke a cigarette. And I'll never forget the time when he yelled at my mom for making me change which horse I bet on at the track, because the horse had terrible odds, but of course it won!

He also taught me Italian...the clean and dirty stuff. Most of the time, he would just tell me to repeat something and I would have no clue what I was saying. And then he would just laugh. I wish that I had remembered more of that. For some reason, I only recall how to swear in Italian now :)

At my Grandpa's funeral, both my Uncle Jim and second cousin, Johnny, related Grandpa's life to the Frank Sinatra song, My Way. Even the funeral director, who knew my Grandpa personally, played that same song at the funeral, and the three of them had no clue that the others had the same idea. But My Way really is so fitting for Grandpa. I think he would say he lived a full life, and had no regrets. He "faced it all and stood tall," and he certainly did it his way. Some of us may not have agreed with everything he did, but there is no arguing that he did it his way and wouldn't have changed a thing. And for that, I truly admire him.

Always in our hearts, Grandpa. I love you and miss you!