My Grandfather and me

 

So I hopped on Facebook on the 116th day of 2022 and I saw my mom's post in my newsfeed.  Mom, on 4/26/2022, is reminiscing about her father, my grandfather, who passed away on this day, 18 years ago.  I have to admit, it does not feel like it's been that long since I have interacted with my grandfather, likely because he is still with me every day.  My Two for 2022 is My Grandfather and Me.  Whether it is every morning when I take my uber dose of Vitamin C (because my Grandfather said it was best to keep us healthy), or when I pause while eating and ensure I am chewing my food as much as I can, or when I am full and feel as though I have had "an elegant sufficiency."  Or when I take the time to learn as much as I can about something before having an opinion, or I take the extra time to complete a task the right way, or when I lean on my ethics to make a decision, or or or.....no matter what I do, I feel my grandfather's presence, guidance, influence, etc.  I am so blessed to have been born into the family I was born into.  I won the birthing lottery for sure.  And I am lucky to have the spirit of Aaron Bechtel with me as I traverse through life.  I love that he spent his time teaching Nursing students Physiology, and I ended up an advisor in the Nursing School at Penn.  I love that he graduated from Penn in 1931 with his BA and, hopefully, in 2031, I will have completed my 40th year of Full Time Employment and be on my way to completing my 45th year on campus.  I love that his love of nature, and education, and family has been passed down to all of the branches in his family tree.  Yes, he may have departed us, physically, 18 years ago, but he has never left my soul, my mind, or my heart.  He is with me every day of my life and I am so lucky for that.

FYI - the picture above is me helping him install email on his computer.  He used to write me letters that were pages and pages long, in his classical script handwriting.  I never felt I had to time to do the letters justice in a letter back.  One day he asked me why I never replied and I said that I just was not good at handwritten letters.  I asked if he would get email, since I was good at writing those.  I remember one of the first emails he sent me was a short, "Hello" or something like that.  I replied with a "pages long" email telling him everything going on in my life (remember, he was on the West Coast and I still in Philadelphia!)  He grounded me in the values of the "old school," but was willing to embrace the new technology (then) to communicate with his grandson.  He was a true Renaissance Man!