At around 14 or 15 - my grandfather sitting me on his lap and saying, "Honey, I just want you to know that my life has been more than I could ever have hoped for and I am a happy and contented man. Your grandmother, your aunts and your dad have been the delight of my life; and there have been too many blessings to count."
Then he continued, "So when I die, I don't want you to be sad. Dying is part of living. I'm not going to die now, or anytime soon, as far as I know, but when I do, I want you to remember me telling you this, and want you to remember that it is all OK for me."
We were always very close and his love for me was unconditional. When he died, a few years later, feeling my grief and also honoring his request completely re-wired my relationship to death, to grief . . . to reality.
It was a blessing beyond words that changed my life forever. Thank you, Grandpa.
And thanks, Ash, for the great question and the opportunity to tell that story.