It’s safe to assume that when it comes to gifts, most kids prefer material items. It’s what we are increasingly conditioned to desire by society and digital media. Of course, as we grow older, we also grow to appreciate gifts that are a bit less tangible — gifts that contain a grander meaning.
So this 16-year-old Texan girl would be forgiven for wanting cash or clothes for her birthday. Yet, when her grandpa wanted to make her day extra special, he decided that she was old enough to see the value of something more priceless. When she realized what her grandpa had given her, it brought her and her family to tears!
A small town around the Fort-Worth area of Texas known as Keller is home to Lauren Blank — or Ren, as she liked to be called. Ren was a 15 going on 16-year-old that was really looking forward to celebrating her birthday.
Ren has always been very close with her grandfather, a 72 year old by the name of Ron Petrillo. He’d helped raise her since she was a baby, after all. Still, she could never have expected his birthday gift to her.
When Ren was just a toddler, her parents decided that instead of sending her to preschool, they would have her spend time in her grandfather’s care. So from ages 2-5, Ren spent almost every day with her grandpa.
These are such formative years in a person’s life and Ren being able to spend them developing a close bond with a loving grandparent was a gift in and of itself for both of them!
Ren wasn’t the only one who felt lucky for that time: Ron recounted that those years were some of the most precious times of his life. He felt it was very important to be fully present when he was taking care of Ren. He didn’t want to miss a single moment.
So as this important birthday was approaching, Ron felt that it was only right to give Ren a gift tantamount to the occasion. A gift that truly celebrated her life and her growth into the young woman she had become.
You see, Ron had been planning Ren’s gift for her entire life, without her ever having any idea. He didn’t want to actually give it to her though until he was totally sure that it was the right time.
Even though it’s always been in vogue to have a big blowout sweet sixteen, Ren opted instead to celebrate with a more intimate gathering of just a few close friends and her family. And, of course, grandpa Ron would be there!
On the morning of Ren’s sixteenth birthday, Ron called Ren’s mother to ask if she thought her daughter was ready for the gift he’d prepared. Together they decided that it was, indeed, the right occasion for his special present.
After keeping this gift a secret for over a decade, the day had finally come for Ron to reveal his surprise for his granddaughter. At last, in March 2012, Ron handed over three spiral-bound notebooks to Ren.
Initially, Ren was confused. What sort of gift was this? But as she opened them and began reading, she started to feel overwhelmed. Amazingly, her grandpa had documented every moment he spent with her from age two through five!
Ren was so young during this period that she had forgotten most of these memories that her grandpa had so carefully preserved. As she began to read through the notebooks, everything started flooding back to her at once.
Ren read through her grandpa’s writing, and soon enough, the entire family was bawling! Many of the stories were detailed and unique, such as the one in which Ron described how he would dance and act silly to make his granddaughter laugh.
“One of your favorite things is for me to push the button on your clock and do my silly dance,” read one passage. “When I say, ‘Lauren do it,’ you sit in your bed and say ‘Papa’ and I keep dancing, falling, running into the wall, turning around like an uncoordinated fat ballerina, and you keep laughing.”
Another entry grandpa Ron wrote about was a trip that Ren and he had taken to a department store. They took an elevator that Ren sweetly referred to as an “alligator.” Ren was so excited about the alligator that they completely forgot about shopping and instead spent the day riding the alligator up and down.
Grandpa Ron’s touching gift moved Ren and her family so much, she couldn’t contain her emotions. She felt a gift this special was too much for her to keep to herself, so she decided to share her present with others.
Ren posted about her grandpa’s amazing gift on Twitter, where her story quickly spread. In no time, it boasted more than 161,000 retweets and 600,000 likes. Countless people reported being moved to tears by her emotional story.
Some Twitter users added that Ren’s gift helped them remember their own grandfathers. Others said that they’d love to do something similar for their grandchildren, either currently or someday in the future.
Perhaps most importantly, though, was how inspiring Ron’s gift was to other young people. Several of them claimed that they were so touched by Ren’s story that they became determined to develop closer relationships with their own grandparents.
It was clear that not only did Ron have a special relationship with his granddaughter but that she appreciated her grandpa just as much.
