It is always special to get a gift from someone we love. Many of us experience this on our birthday when we receive something from friends and family. Although we may have many special memories of birthday gifts that we received in the past, they were all pale in comparison to the one that Lauren Blank received from her dear grandfather. In fact, this gift does more than touch her heart, it is certain to touch your heart as well.
Lauren was just turning 16 years old and she had always been very close to her grandfather, Ron Petrillo. Her grandfather was 72 years old and he presented her with a gift that was beautifully wrapped. It was one of those gifts that you almost didn’t want to open because you know that a lot of love went into wrapping it. She decided to tear into it, however, and when she saw what was inside, she started to cry.
Her grandfather had spent years making this gift and it was one that any family member would’ve been proud to receive. From the time that Lauren was only two years old until she was five years old, he had kept a journal of their daily life together.
“Hi Lauren: I’m just starting this so someday you might read it for fun. It’s going to be a day-to-day record of you and me,” wrote Petrillo in the very first entry, dated February 16th, 2003.
He wanted his granddaughter to have something special. The journals came at the best time possible. He thought about when to give them to her and he decided that it was better to do while he was still around. In that way, they could enjoy the memories together.
“I had three dates in mind — I had 16, 21, and then when I was gone. I thought if she was straightened out and being a good person and being nice to people that was important. So I decided to give it to her on her 16th birthday,” said Petrillo.
She hasn’t been through all of the entries yet but she found a favorite memory.
“He used to do this ‘See Ya’ game, and he would run into the wall over and over and over and I would die,” said Lauren.
These two share many special memories, such as going to the rescue zoo daily. They would look at some of the animals, pets some when possible and he would pick her up a trinket.
It turns out that there were 185 pages of memories that were put into this journal. He stopped when she was five years old. It was during those years that she was young enough to stay with him on a daily basis but then she started going to school.
“I just want the grandparents that are in their 40s and 50s to know that they can do the same thing. If that’s the only thing that comes out of this then that’s just fine,” said Petrillo.
Isn’t this just the sweetest thing you’ve ever heard?