Mike Cohen

At one time in my life, I was lucky enough to have 5 living grandparents, including my great grandfather. Obviously I didn’t realize how lucky I was then, but now looking back I’m making up for when I didn’t appreciate that fact. Some people have never even met their grandparents. Going through old photos I found this one. I had more hair on my head than my face, and that was my grandpa Al.

He passed before I was diagnosed with cancer. He was an old school New York City, union carpenter. Very thick accent, and always a godfather cigar in his mouth. I remember hearing so many stories about how strong he was. My favorite story was how he was able to hammer a nail in with one short, compact, powerful swing. The other story I loved of him was when he was a few moments away from closing his eyes for the final time, he had a breathing tube that kept falling off his face. My dad kept putting it back on. The last time my dad tried, my grandfather grabbed his hand, and my dad wasn’t able to move his hand from my grandpa’s grip. Such a legend.

I wasn’t able to properly say goodbye to him. My family allowed me to see him in his casket before we buried him. I was fortunate to have that closure. Much has happened since he passed, and I definitely miss him so much. To this exact moment, I was extremely grateful and relieved he wasn’t alive to see what I’ve been through.

This is a shout out to anyone who still has grandparents alive or if you are a grandparent yourself, salud. Thank you for the infinite love. And the extra cash in our pockets.

#gratitude #mikecohen #familyfirst #inspiration