We’re all guilty of it sometimes. We work more than we visit. We let chores take precedence. We take family for granted.
The last time I saw my grandfather, Joseph “Midjo” Miesko, was at Christmas in 2008. On Saturday, I said goodbye to him at his funeral.
I should have come home more. I should have called more. I should have said “I love you” more.
Sometimes we forget.
It’s easy to feel guilty. But I know that if my grandpa could talk to me now, he’d tell me to knock it off and get on with life.
He was more of a doer than a thinker, the type of man who jumped out of planes in World War II, the type of man who started working in the coal mines at age 12 to help his widowed mother keep her farm.
My tears would not be coddled. We have to do what we have to do.
My grandfather spent his life on a farm in Lilly.
When I was a little girl, he taught me how to feed corn to his horses. He gave me bouquets of tail feathers that his peacocks had shed. And after a particularly nasty rooster chased me mercilessly, my grandpa helped me have him for supper.
It shouldn’t have surprised me that when I moved to Africa in 2005, my grandfather, who loved to be surrounded by animals, only asked me to bring him a monkey. (Alas, customs rules are tough.) He didn’t ask if I was sure I wanted to go. He didn’t suggest that I couldn’t do it. He told me to be careful and let me go.
“Can’t” was never a part of this man’s vocabulary. For better or worse, I inherited that gene.
When I came back to the States two years later, his health had declined, but his spirit had not. After a stroke in 2004, he steadily began to lose the use of his hands.
The hands that had baled hay and swung a pickax and lifted me over the fence to follow him as he fed his pigs slowly began to leave him. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to watch your body betray you.
Soon after my return, I moved to Washington, D.C., and began to come home less and less. The drive was too long. I was too busy. My life was here now, I told myself. The girl who collected $20 from her grandpa for a good report card had grown up. But did that mean I didn’t need him?
Sometimes we learn lessons the hard way.
It’s easy to get caught up in where we are and forget about where we come from. I live in a place now where men like my grandpa are few and far between.
There are more Lexuses than Fords on the beltway. Most people I know are in therapy because “life is hard.” I’ve yet to meet a man here who fixes things himself instead of calling a repair service.
This is what I’m surrounded by, but it’s not who I am. It’s a small consolation in losing my grandfather, but I’m so thankful to be able to recognize the value of my community.
I’m grateful for where I come from. I’m grateful for the work ethic and strength of character that is so ingrained in the western Pennsylvania culture. I’m grateful for my grandpa.
I never said it enough, but I feel it now: I love you.
Lindsay Miesko is a journalism graduate student at Georgetown University and a former Tribune-Democrat intern.
Local News
Related Photos
-
Submitted Photo
Discussion
LINDSEY MIESKO | Say ‘I love you’ before ‘goodbye’
- Local News
-
-
Richland manufacturer showcases expansion
Business and government leaders gathered Monday at a Richland Township manufacturing company to celebrate the expansion of its export business, made possible through some cooperative government programs.
-
New jury to hear Blair case
The 12 jury members and two alternates chosen nearly a month ago to decide the fate of Nicholas Adam Horner were excused on Monday by Blair County President Judge Jolene Kopriva.
-
Blogging with heart
Launching into the second week of American Heart Month, I'm looking at stories on the leading-edge treatment options and how local heart specialists are helping patients live longer.
-
Marijuana bust: Police seeking runaway seize dozens of pot plants
City police looking for a runaway juvenile stumbled onto a marijuana “grow operation,” seized more than 40 pot plants and arrested two apartment house neighbors.
-
Former speaker convicted
A jury on Monday convicted a senior Democrat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on all but one of six charges in the latest corruption trial stemming from a five-year investigation into the use of taxpayers’ resources for political purposes.
-
‘Dramatic’ Pa. budget cuts expected
Top state senators say they expect Gov. Tom Corbett to propose a budget plan today that relies on cuts in spending for education and social services to balance sluggish tax collections and the rising costs of pensions and debt.
-
ACRP seeks partners for neighborhood gardens
A few years ago, the Alternative Community Resource Program and its partners planted a garden alongside Napoleon Street in a move to fill both hungry stomachs and a need for neighborhood rejuvenation.
-
‘Hope for the future’: Workshops offer confidence boost to cancer patients
Chances are when you look good you feel better about yourself.
-
Police Roundup: Martindale man accused of trying to enter cars at Portage dealership
A Portage-area man has been charged with criminal attempt at theft after state police said he was discovered trying to enter three vehicles in the parking lot of Stager’s Chevrolet.
-
In brief: Fire destroys windmill turbine
Fire destroyed a windmill turbine at the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm on top of the mountain in Blair County between Blue Knob and Lilly on Monday morning.
- More Local News Headlines
-
US, UK Pressure on Syria; More Homs Violence
Raw Video: Mass Killer Wants Medal, Freedom
Few Answers in Death of Sons of Missing Utah Mom
Court Strips Contador of Tour De France Title
Runaway Goat Leads Police on Wild Chase
And the Winner for Best Super Bowl Ad Is...
Raw Video: Deadly Helicopter Crash in Australia
Raw Video: Smoke, Purported Gunfire in Syria
Romney Latest Poll to Join Let-me-explain Club
Blast Kills Husband of Missing Utah Mom, 2 Boys
Obama: US, Israel Will Work Against Iran Nukes
NJ Museum Finds 19th Century Recording
Snow Causes Disruptions in Much of Europe
Clinton: Vetoed U.N. Syria Resolution 'travesty'
Romney Picks Up Decisive Win in Nevada Caucuses
Gingrich Renews Vow to Campaign Until Convention
Romney Rolls to Easy Win in Nevada GOP Caucuses
Raw Video: Missing Family Found Alive in Ore.
Police Clear Tents From Occupy Site in DC
Killer of Fla. Girl Found in Landfill Gets Life
