My Neighbor

Date: October 2014

Location: Leicester, UK.

Dedicating this story to my lovely neighbor in Sweetbriar Road Leicester UK. My neighbor is in his 90's a lovely grandpa, I lived next door to him in upstairs flat. So I have a chance to see my neighbor grandpa whenever he comes of his house and all the views from first fllor flat.. The flat I was living was part of a  big semidetached house and it was almost dead silence in the house and the street where I lived. 

Everybody in that street has a fixed schedule after living in that flat for an year I know who comes and goes.   Even though my neighbor grandpa is pretty old he lives alone, his daughter comes every day with cooked dinner and his son comes every morning with breakfast. Grandpa has only one outing a week that is on all Sundays, a regular taxi man comes and he goes somewhere, which was the usual scene for me when taxi man comes and gives a beep. After seeing his routine for nearly a year I did n’t get a chance to say hello to him. He got a calling bell but he can't hear it, so no point in trying that his kids got their own keys to visit grandpa.

Once when I was enjoying snowing day outside grandpa came out to bin his milk can, I felt that was the golden chance to speak to him, I went near him and said hello, I felt he was comfortable with me and asked me what I am doing in UK where I am from etc. That conversation went on for 2 hours or more than that... For the first time in my life time I felt like I can't find words to explain grandpa “what a Laptop is ...”. Grandpa was an old world war veteran, who watches black white TV (1970 model) in 2013. For him everything is B&W, he was not aware of inventions like PC /laptop. He reads books old war novels and kept himself busy. Some chance encounters with him made me close with him and I got to ask him where he is going alone on all Sundays with the taxi man? On the first day I didn't get answer I ignored him and I thought he must not have heard me.

After 2/ 3 months I saw him again, truth was he heard me and he was actually waiting to tell me his love story on a special occasion. For my surprise he give a ring in my calling bell. The bell at that time of Saturday was very odd so I went down and to check who was that and saw this grandpa in the door. I was living in first floor he said he can't climb stairs so we walked little bit to the nearby park. Grandpa said it was his wedding anniversary on that day and told about his wife, showed me an old black white photo and said she is nursing home for past 4 years due to dementia problems and he visits her every Sunday. She don't recognizes him as his husband but he is visits her every Sunday to have lunch together. He still do the same in October 2014. I moved my flat 1.5 years ago but met this grandpa very accidentally on weekend he was pretty excited to ask me how my job and new location is.   The thought of penning down this was in mind for a while, but when I saw him on Sunday I decided I should make an article for him now before it is too late.I do have picture of grandpa but due to privacy issues I can't share it.

If you do something out of duty it will deplete you. But if you do something out of love it will energize you.Marriage is a choice, even when it's not going perfect. He is your best friend, you have history together, a million laughs and inside jokes. You know him better than anyone ever will. He is your happy and sad all balled into one place, because he owns your heart. Love is worth all the good times and the bad, especially if he is still fighting for you and your heart. ♥

Marriage does not guarantee you will be together forever, it’s only a paper. It takes love, respect, trust, understanding, friendship and faith in your relationship to make it last ♥♥♥