One of my first teachers...

You will hear me talk a lot about my Grandma, Aunt and Dad when it comes to the first and maybe most important teachers in my life. However, there is another person who had a profound influence in my life from a very early age. My Grandpa was a more quiet influence in my life but he was no less important to my upbringing.

As I was going through my pictures looking for a particular picture for an other project I was struck by how many pictures there are of me with my Grandpa throughout my childhood where he is teaching me or sharing something pretty cool.

I found pictures where he is helping me learn to walk when I was a baby, some where he is listening me read one of my many books, and one of my all-time favorite memories from my childhood is when he took me to see a Boeing 747 carrying the space shuttle Challenger on its back when it landed at Kelly AFB in 1983. He talked to me some about why it had to ride on the back of the 747 and how cool it was to see it in person. It is a memory I have always cherished because I got to share it with my Grandpa who seemed as fascinated by it as I was.

I can still see my Grandpa sitting at the kitchen table with the newspaper spread out in front of him while he worked on a crossword puzzle. I cannot say I love doing crossword puzzles but I do have a large vocabulary and a love for knowing all sorts of weird facts that helped my Grandpa work through those crosswords. My Dad and Grandpa heavily influenced my sense of humor and mischief. No one can deny I have the Shaffar stubbornness, although, I like to think of it as determination.

There are so many things I learned from my Grandpa that it would be impossible to list them all.

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to spend so much time with both of my grandparents. They played a huge part of some of my most cherished memories of my childhood and definitely helped me to become not only the person I am today, but also the teacher I am in my classroom.

Top left: Watching the space shuttle Challenger. Top right: Reading to my Grandpa. Middle : Grandpa taking a break from his crossword puzzle to feed baby Tina some tasty breakfast.  Bottom row: My Grandpa helping me walk.