My grandma died before Grandpa. She was only 55. He never got over it. After he eventually passed too, we were cleaning up his stuff and found an old birthday card from Grandma written just before she died. On the back, there were 21 lines written in pencil.
Each year, Grandpa would write the date of his new birthday on the back, adding a different small note beside it. He wrote things like, “I miss you terribly this year,” or “You would have liked the weather today.” He did this up to his last birthday.
Grandpa died when he was 80— exactly 21 years after his wife. It broke my heart. The greatest love I’ve ever witnessed.
