Sonny Jim

This time last year I was preparing for graduation because it was less than three weeks away. Little did I know that my grandad was coming from England (even though my mom did slip and tell me a few weeks in advance it was still a pleasant surprise). Tonight as I was looking through the pictures I remembered something he said to me a little bit before this photo: “I can’t promise I’ll make your wedding, Steve, but at least I’m here for this.” Even then I knew he was sick, but I didn’t really think twice about his statement. Never before has he missed anything life changing — my mother’s medical school graduation, the move from New Jersey in the summer of 1999 — and it make me unnerved to know that he never will physically be present to those kinds of events again. It’s been more than three months since he died and I still can’t help but rewind a year to this date in 2004 when he was still here.