i think i would like to look like my grandpa
i just spent the day with my sister at the mall and near the end of the trip, i found a pair of glasses i loved. my sister immediately went, oh those make you look like papa. i think i would like to look like my grandpa.
he's not a blood relative (he married into my mom's side when she was in high school), but he has been my papa, and one of the strongest rocks in my life, since i was born. him and my grandma lived in another state for most of my life but as soon as i went off to college, they moved a street away from my family. so now, i see him and my grandma a lot more often than i used to. they come over for every holiday and dinners once in a while. i've loved having the man who has inspired me to continue performing so close. he's a part of the reason that i do what i do.
whenever he comes over to our house or i go over to his, he will greet me with a fact or a song, and whenever the conversation lulls, he will start singing a melody i know to get me to sing along. he was a performer for many years and we share stories often about theatre and he will share a fun fact that nine times out of ten i already know but i am still amazed every time. amazed for the sake of connection.
just recently we went to go see a production of the wizard of oz together (my whole family and my grandparents), and before the show he sent us photos of him as the guard of the emerald city. i love those photos because you can see the joy in his eyes behind those silly green glasses and the smile that makes up half his face. i've seen countless videos and photos of him performing, but i don't remember ever seeing those specific ones before.
he shared stories of all the people he knew who did the show with him and all the people he thought were so talented (and those he thought were odd). i found myself asking what theatre he did these shows at, not just for the sake of connection, but to maybe work at a theatre he once did and to feel the same joy in those stories. he doesn't do shows with that company anymore (i actually think they've disbanded) but i wondered what it would feel like to do a show with the man who has inspired me to push further and laugh louder.
he has such a passion for theatre (and for murder mysteries), which makes me want to encourage him to audition for something now. i want him to audition for shows at theatres i grew up loving, and to share the knowledge he's given me with other performers. i don't think he will want to do that, though. but i do want him to never stop sharing his stories with me and my family.
i didn't buy those glasses, i think i chickened out. but i did buy another pair of glasses. when i looked at the receipt, i noticed they were called the "grandma glasses". funny.