This I Believe…
Have you ever had something bad happen to you, your family or friends and wondered what good could come from this? Or why did this happen? My name is Mickey Boylan and I believe that sad things and moments that seem only negative to the naked eye aren’t completely bad after all.
When I was younger, around 13 years old or so, my grandfather on my dad’s side was very sick and in the hospital. We knew he probably wouldn’t recover enough to go back to living at home like he was. My grandmother, his wife, passed away before I was born, but both of my mom’s parents were still alive and healthy so this was the first time I really witnessed a family member near death. Most of my Mom’s family lives in Pennsylvania, specifically the area around Pittsburgh but my Dad’s family is more spread out. Apart from my Dad’s one brother who lived about 20 minutes away from my grandfather, my dad and his other two brothers lived at least 2 hours away, with us being the farthest away living four hours away in Michigan.
At this time I wasn’t real close with my dad’s side of the family, mostly because they were so spread out while my mom’s side was primarily in the same city. So much so that for New Year’s and other holidays when we would go to my mom’s family, my grandfather on my dad’s side would come over and celebrate with the rest of my mom’s side. Apart from that I didn’t see my dad’s family that often. I didn’t see my dad’s family too often until now that is.
As soon as we realized my grandfather wasn’t getting much better we began driving up from our house in southeast Michigan to Pittsburgh each and every weekend to visit with him. We weren’t the only ones though. My dad’s brother who lives in the Cleveland area also would come up each weekend to visit. That brother is my dad’s only brother with kids so I also got to see my cousins more than ever before. I’m not a fan of hospitals and seeing family members getting sicker and sicker but during this time I actually would look forward to make the four-hour trek to Pittsburgh each Saturday and see my grandpa, uncles, aunts and cousins. My dad’s side of the family is very funny, so I always believed that when we came and would joke around it cheered not only my grandpa up, but the rest of us there too.
Our family quickly grew closer and closer together but nothing got the family bonding closer than when football season started in September. With our family being from Pittsburgh, the Steelers were a huge deal, especially for the sports nut like me and my dad. Each weekend we would drive in on Saturday visit my grandpa, go out to eat with my dad’s uncles, aunts and cousins, spend the night then go back to the hospital on Sunday where we would all watch the Steelers together. Big-time Steelers fans might have already realized this, but for those who haven’t, this season, the 2004 season, was Ben Roethlisberger’s rookie season and the season where the Steelers lost only one game in the entire regular season and made it to the AFC Championship before finally bowing out of the playoffs to the New England Patriots.
Week in and week out in the hospital we would all watch to see if “Big Ben” would lead the Steelers to victory in more impressive fashion than he did the previous week, and usually he was successful in doing so. Unless it was a night game we would not leave to go home until the Steelers had the game wrapped up.
This was only the first step when it came to hanging out more with my dad’s family. After my grandpa eventually passed away we continued to visit with my uncle and aunt and cousins who lived two hours away in Cleveland. We would stop in and grab a bite to eat with them on our way to Pittsburgh, or see them at the Boylan Family Reunion. A couple times they came out to Michigan to visit and even came to see one of my soccer games.
Despite the circumstances I’m living proof that even in the saddest events, there can be positive things taken out. Without my grandpa getting sick and being in the hospital who knows how much I’d have seen my uncles, aunts and cousins. I might’ve never gone to the family reunions where I have a blast talking with family about various subjects or having a place to stay, hang out and have a good time when I head home from Penn State for holiday breaks when I can’t make it all the way to Michigan because of the Megabus schedule. I might not have had the chance to play a number of rounds of golf with my uncle, so although it’s sad to see someone pass away and leave the people he loved and the people who loved him, something good came out of it. This is why I believe that sad things aren’t always only sad after all.