Happy Birthday, Grandpa.

Today is my baby sister’s twentysecond  birthday. She flew in yesterday, and I can hardly wait to tell you about all of the fun we’re having. But before I do, I need to tell you about my grandpa. Tuesday was his birthday. And my Grandpa Sam, my mother’s father and my namesake, is 79 years young.

My grandpa is truly an incredible man. Also an incredibly humble and modest man, he’d die if he even knew I was gushing about him for the whole world to see. But it was his birthday, and you know I love a birthday. So I’m doing it anyway. Because he really is fantastic.

So fantastic that he sends homemade birthday cards. In the mail. Always filled with pranks and jokes and signed by characters like your pal, Oprah I can always count on my grandpa’s cards to be display worthy. But what I really treasure are his letters. I’ve been receiving letters from my grandpa nearly weekly since I entered my first year of college in Santa Barbara, as did my mom when she began her freshman year at the University of Redlands. Keeping me afloat with juicy family gossip and town happenings, I am always in the loop. But not one for small talk, my grandpa’s letters - always written in black ink with red accents and always written on yellow lined note paper - always had an agenda. For example….

Dearest Samantha, your mom tells me you’ve been visiting friends in San Diego lately. Stay away. San Diego is very close to Mexico. Be careful.

In case you don’t have a grandpa who sends you letters, filled with the wisdom of someone who’s truly lived a full life, as I imagine not many do, I’d like to share with you some of the highlights.

Be kind. Always pay with cash. If you can’t pay with cash, you can’t afford it. Live simply. Live with compassion. Eat candy bars. Recycle. Deck shoes are always appropriate footwear. Speak slowly. Speak with intention. Repeat your phone number twice. Don’t say um. Take a pause instead. Don’t get tattoos. Don’t date losers. They’re not worth your time.  Stay away from drugs. Stay out of the sun. Cough in to your shoulder. Use hand sanitizer. Always carry tic tacs. Travel. Travel more. Read books. Read the newspaper. Write letters. They mean more than emails. Make cards. They’re more thoughtful than store bought. Take naps. Take pictures. Take candid pictures. You’ll hate them, until you realize how perfect they are. Plant tulips. Expand your vocabulary. Use words like circa. It means around. Watch the BBC. Value your education. Value your family. Nothing will mean more. Invest wisely, both your time and money. Take care of yourself. Take care of others. Treasure what matters, and toss what doesn’t. Literally. 

Here he is. Or actually, here we are. Sitting on the steps of his house at one of my family’s garage sale. Someone put a price tag around my neck, as if I were for sale. Parents are hilarious, right? This has to be one of my favorite pictures. Of all time. I’m guessing I’m around ten. Flash forward another ten years and here we are again. This time in front of my house, where my grandpa hasn’t aged a single day and I apparently drowned in a bottle of peroxide and got electrocuted. 

Happy Birthday, Grandpa.