The Standard

Warning: this is going to be extremely sappy.

I'm sure I have mentioned to some of you how much my grandpa means to me. He is the epitome of the perfect man, not in a weird way, but he has always been what has set the standard for me (as far as what I look for in a guy). I know that may sound weird to some people, but it makes perfect sense to me. So after I talked him up this much, I have decided to give those of you that haven't met him (basically all of you) a little insight to what makes him so great.

He is from a really small town of Mississippi but he actually met my grandma at Pearl River Junior College where he was playing football and basketball. He was raised to be a southern gentlemen, in a time when that was the norm, and she was only 16 when they met because she graduated high school early. They hit it off from the get go. Two years later, when they graduated from Pearl River, my grandma moved to New Orleans to work with a few of her girlfriends. Judge me if you must, but it was like something out of a movie when I read the letter my grandpa wrote to her in her yearbook. SO cute. He went on to play more college ball at William Carey and finish his education, and they got married shortly thereafter and had their first child (my mom) in 1956.

Now, I'm sure I'm romanticizing this a little bit, but if you saw the way my grandpa cared for my grandma and looked at her, you would have a hard time imagining it being any other way. My grandma's health isn't the best, so my grandpa spends the majority of his time caring for her. He is so kind and patient with her. I love watching them interact. Especially when my grandma is feeling particularly feisty.

Besides the fact that he is wonderful with my grandma, he also has a great sense of humor. He makes me laugh every time we are together, even if I've heard the story 100 times already. I wish I could have known him when he was younger because I think he would have been a total goofball. His sense of humor and mine match really well, so it's really fun when we get to hang out.

To top it all off, he is and has always been a great spiritual leader in my family. I know without a doubt that he lives his life according to his faith and convictions, and I admire that kind of maturity.

I encourage you to meet him if you can. His name is Henry Elbert Johnson. Look him up. He is my grandpa and my hero and I love him...a lot.