Maya Robbins Gorgeous Eulogy to Brother Grandad

Printed with permission, and written solely by little Maya.

The law of the conservation of matter dictates that matter can neither be created nor destroyed. Our earth will never gain any more matter than it already has, nor will it lose any of the matter it contains. In an isolated system, the amount of matter must always stay the same. This is a law of the universe.

The atoms that made up Grandad may be more dispersed than before. They may have lower chemical energy, and they may seem very different from the Grandad we knew and loved, but they will exist until the end of the universe. According to the law of conservation, not a bit of Grandad is gone, he is just less orderly. These atoms, these pieces of Grandad will still live on. This is a law of the universe.

Grandad will also live on in our memories. I will always remember the patience he had when he would assist me with making my fake movie trailers, always willing to do a second take, even if it meant pretending to be a frog one more time. He will live on in the kindness in his heart and in his soul. I will always remember showing up at his house, and he would always have some fig newtons, my favorite, for me. I will always remember how enthusiastic Grandad was. He would always call my dad up directly after a basketball game so they could talk sports. Even at a young age I was impressed by his passion for a team.

Grandad’s time for creating new memories with us may be over, but we will always remember the memories he gave us, in this isolated system we know as earth. Grandad will live on in our hearts, and in our memories of him. We may not be able to create new memories, but we cannot destroy our existing memories.

This is a law of our love.