My Huckleberry

A very happy belated birthday to my grandpa who turned 79 last Sunday. I was lucky enough to spend his birthday with him in Arizona last weekend. At 79 Poppie has more energy, craziness and verve for life in his little finger than most men twenty years his junior. He is the example of what I want to be in life. Beyond the success he has found, is an open love for those around him. He gets enjoyment from seeing those around him happy, whether its financial, relationships or just giving advise. It’s that BIG HEARTED love that I want to replicate.

I can’t imagine my life without my grandpa; he is a central character of so many of my memories.  Doing crazy things, skydiving, rolling four wheelers, snowmobiles and golf carts, golfing in the Canadian Rockies surrounded by bugling elk in rut, speeding across the Nevada desert, being told at 14 to get in and drive a truck with a 40 foot trailer through Canada. We done just about everything you can think of.

Through the highs and lows of the last 19 years of my life no one has had a greater influence on me. From the tough love and heartbreak of telling me I would never be Vince Carter, but that I would be so smart that Vince couldn’t hold my jockstrap to encouragement and guidance when choosing a direction in life, ultimately no one has in my life has believed in me like he has.

Right now I work at one of my grandparent’s retirement facilities. It’s a very demanding job, I regularly work 80-100 hour weeks and work is a big distraction from the little free time that I have with phone calls and problems the staff can’t figure out. A social life is something I used to have, my friends ask me why I choose to keep doing this job and my answer is simple.. Poppie. He has a dream for me that others don’t see and sometimes I even fail to grasp. So everyday I go work hard to validate his decision to put me here in this position. Sure it’s a lot of sleepless nights and long days, but if I even sniff the plan he has laid out for me it will be worth it.

We all need someone in life who believes in us and unconditionally loves us, an angel, a huckleberry and I’m so blessed to have Poppie as that figure in my life.

I write this for my confidant, friend, partner in crime and Huckleberry