podcast rough draft

The speaker reflects on their childhood memories at a lake cabin and the loss of their grandfather. They realize the importance of cherishing moments and not taking things for granted. The death of a family member has brought perspective and a deeper appreciation for life and loved ones. Hello everyone and welcome back to the Owen Ellsworth podcast where we dive into my life experiences and reflections on what's going on in my life. But first I want to quote my personal narrative to get some perspective and get more insight into what I'll be discussing. The old rundown lake cabin was nothing special from the outside, but to me this house mirrored key memories of my childhood. It's more than a wood dock, boat, and fire pit surrounded by a cabin. It's the dock where my grandpa spent countless hours teaching me how to cast a rod and rail in a fish. It's the boat he filled with smiles flipping us over tubes with a little grin on his face. Along with the ancient rusty fire pit sitting in the front of the cabin where my family would sit around sharing laughs, making s'mores, and enjoying each other's company. My grandpa told us stories about his fishing trips to Canada and the times he would go to Arizona during the winter to escape the cold. In the heart of the cabin sat the old brown oak table piled with countless memories of card games with my grandpa well past midnight. Lake Okoboji has always been my safe place. All I want now is to be back there enjoying those priceless memories, but here I am with tears running down my face reminiscing about past times staring at a poster board of pictures of my grandpa and our shared happy place at his funeral. Everyone talks about as a child how they can't wait to grow up for the freedom and the independence that comes with adulthood. Yet it's moments like this when you realize your childhood's gone and you'll never get back to these memories of your childhood that you wish you could go back to. A death of a family member is what it took for me to realize it's the sad truth. It brought me perspective to life in the precious time that we have here. Seeing my father for the first time once I got the news of his father passing away was one of the most emotional moments I've ever had with him. I walked into the house after track practice to find him talking on the phone with his brother. I could see the emotion built up in him by the way he slouched on the couch with tear stains rolling down his face from earlier that day. This is the lowest I've ever seen my dad in his life. My dad ends the call with his brother. I walk over to him and he stands up and we gave each other a timeless hug. I say I'm sorry in his ear and that's when his tears started rolling down my shoulder and he was crying in my arms. This is a very emotional time in my dad's life and a very emotional time in my life to lose someone I love while also seeing my father lose his own dad. Seeing the loss of a family member makes me think about the future and the pain I will feel when I'm in my dad's position losing the best man I will ever know. Seeing this has changed everything for me. With taking things for granted it's made me reflect on how I handle life pretty much. It's taught me to cherish every moment of my family and friends. I don't need to worry about the future I just need to live in the moment and just cherish what I have.