The Most Amazing Gift. - 5/31/2008

Jun 01, 2008 - 19:13 PM PST

so i kinda want to share a lil story about what happened to me this weekend. It made me very Happy and teary eyed at the same time.

So, as i've been discussing recently, I'm graduating from High School in a week, making me the last girl (on my dads side of the family) to graduate. Anyways, my uncle came over yesterday to hang out and see me before i go off to Ohio. Towards the end of the night, he presents me with a card and small box. In the card was another letter that read:

Many years ago Papa Don started a family tradition. He had a diamond cross made for Grammi. After that he then had another made for each daughter, neice, and granddaughter on their graduation from high school. Papa, being the staunch traditionalist that he has always been, asked me to please carron on the tradition. He especially wanted to make sure that Janine (me) received her cross from him & Grammi.This cross is exactly the same as all the crosses Papa had made. I am sure he would have been thrilled to present this to you himself but somehow knew he woudlnt be here to do it personally. So please accept this diamond cross on behalf of Grammi and Papa, as well as your mom and dad and all the rest of your family.


My Papa died right before I turned 16 (my sophmore year) and we were extremely close. It was at his funeral that I found out about the cross tradition because all my cousins were wearing theres and talking about them. Being the youngest girl in the family by a long shot, I would be the only one to never have recieved the cross from my Papa, and frankly wasnt expecting it at all. It makes me happy and sad and very curious to think of how my Papa was thinking about this while he was dying. I think the most special thing about the cross, even recieving it after his death, is that its a reminder of how great a man he was. He was always doing the smallest, yet kindest gestures for people, especially his family, and especially me. I miss him so much, and this is such a reminder of how he is always with me.