I’m sitting in my living room working on a paper on my laptop while my Mom is cleaning the house.  While she’s cleaning a shelf she accidentally knocks over a pair of glasses.  Without hesitating I move quickly and grab the pair of glasses.  I check really quickly to make sure the glasses weren’t damaged.  My Mom takes the glasses and puts them back in their proper place, but it’s already returned memories good and bad.

The glasses belonged to my grandfather on my Mom’s side of the family.  We called him Papa Glasses because when I was little I thought grandpa sounded too normal so I wanted a special name for him.  Him and my grandmother had a huge part in raising me when I was little.  My Mom and Dad both worked, so during the day my grandparents would usually keep an eye on me.  My grandfather was very loving and he always had a big smile on his face whenever he saw me.  He would always be at the head of the table at family gatherings and he always enjoyed good food.  Sadly, he passed away during the summer before my senior year of high school.  It was one of the worse times in my life because junior year had been rough for various reasons and then instead of getting better, things got worse in a way I couldn’t imagine.  Seeing my family go through such a trying time was rough and all the milestone moments I had in senior year didn’t feel complete without my grandfather.  Although there are plenty of memories and photos, his pair of glasses may be one of the things he left behind I am happy to have.  After all his glasses were part of his nickname.

As I finish my paper, I take a second look at the glasses on the shelf.  Although I may just be reminiscing, I can’t help but feel as if the glasses have a certain power to them.  I feel that looking into them I can see memories I had with my grandfather playing out before me.  All the times he visited my house and we’d all watch movies together.  All the times I sat with him at Coney Island in the evening asking him about his youth and talking about good foods.  It cuts off before the bad memories come.  Makes sense, considering he would go through hell if it meant his family would be safe.  What I would give for one more dinner with him around.