Happy Birthday Grandpa

Today would have been my maternal grandfather Gilbert P. Ellis’ 100th birthday.  Grandpa Ellis only lived to 85 but he imparted 100 years worth of wisdom into the 32 years I knew him.  I could write books about him but am going to focus today’s post on how he inspired me by refusing to grow old.

Grandpa Ellis maintained his physical condition well into his senior years.  He lifted weights in his thirties.  At his maximum, he weighed 285 pounds on a 6’04” frame.  He often told me, “Some of the 285 was pure lard though.”

When I was born, Grandpa weighed about 240 pounds, which was his normal weight until he died a couple of months shy of his 86th birthday.  Grandpa retained his strength well into his eighties.

When was a senior in high school, I had been lifting weights for two years.  Grandpa decided to work on his riding lawn mower, which required him to stand it on end and rest it upright.  Mom told me to help him but Grandpa glared at both of us.

My 72-year-old grandfather said, “I’m no old man.”  With one exertion on the two front tires, he raised the riding mower into the upright position.  I looked and my mother and told her, “I can’t do that.”

This same summer Grandpa Ellis sunk all six poles for his boat dock into the bottom of the lake, while the rest of us held up the boat dock.  Grandpa used a 16 pound sledge to sink all the poles and didn’t take a break until the work was done.

These feats are minor compared to one which he accomplished when he was a few months shy of his 80th birthday.  Grandpa bought a new television set because his old console television finally died.  It was an oak encased set which weighed about 200 or so pounds.

When he asked me to help him take it out of the house, I didn’t think about calling anyone else to help me.  He surprised me when we started to carry it out of the house and he told me to go backward down the steps.  He never let me walk backwards down the steps before.  When he saw the puzzled look on my face, Grandpa said, “We both knew it would happen one day.”

We carried it down the steps and then wheeled the television around the end of the block to the back of his house, where the city picked up big items once a month.  About three-fourths of the way around the block, he stopped to catch his breath.  He told me, “I hate to admit but I think old age is finally starting to catch up with me.”

It hit me right then.  Grandpa was Superman.  Almost 80 years old, he carried out a television men half his age could not handle.  Yet by his standards, he should not even have to stop and catch his breath.

As I age, I frequently think of Grandpa’s example in how I want to age.  He refused to give into a mindset which would have made him old before his time.  What an amazing man he was.  Happy 100th Birthday, Grandpa!

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