Hello everyone, LunaWolve here.

Over the weekend, I have unfortunately been informed that my grandmother (Dad's side) is likely going to die in the next coming days/week.

She is currently in the hospital and has been for around a week now, but her condition is not particularly improving and the doctors have prognosed a not-so-ideal outcome being the most likely scenario over the next week.

As such, I will be taking a short hiatus, as announced in the title, to deal with any family-related matters in this regard.

The hiatus should be around a week (Admin Week for this month) long, but might be extended beyond the usual 7-day Admin Week duration, in case additional assistance inside my family is required (particularly in regards to my Dad, as this is his last parent passing).

I thank you for your understanding on this matter, in advance.

Additionally, please refrain from messaging me with too many "I'm sorry" or "My condolences", etc. messages, as while they are kind in spirit and appreciated, they do clog up the works quite a lot.

If you'd like to leave some words in regards to this, please try to concentrate them over the next 2-3 days in the comment section down below; or at any point in the Discord's #General-chat (as I can always mute that one if it becomes too much to deal with).

That said, let me tell you about the superwoman that is my grandma Lily, because she deserves no less:

She's gone through like 4 cancer treatments, had some insane surgeries to deal with various issues, broke like twenty different bones and yet, never shies away from being the kindest, most compassionate and funny person she can be.

She was born right before World War 2 and thusly grew up during the largest war the world has ever seen and it's immediate consequences.

I say immediate here, because we (She and myself as well) are German.

That meant the vast majority of housing was nothing but rubble when she grew up.

That meant no real food, no clean water and foreign occupation by several countries, when she grew up.

But growing up she did anyway.

My Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma both survived the 2nd World War, so my grandma was more lucky than most in that regard.

It wasn't an easy time, by any stretch, but they managed to make it through somehow.

Later in her life, she met my Grandpa Tony (RIP gramps <3) and ultimately settled down to start her own family.

And what a family it is.

I know very little of how exactly she was raised, unfortunately, but I know a lot more about how my father was raised by her.

My father is one of four; with two other brothers and a sister.

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To mention that raising a family of six in post-WW2, reconstruction-era Germany would be tough, I hope I do not need to stress.

But Tony and her muscled through regardless and not just in a "we managed, but we kinda fucked up hard along the way" kind of way.

The amount of love, kindness and important life lessons that both of my grandparents imparted on every member of this family is beyond anything I would have ever believed possible, if I wasn't a direct descendant and had received the first-hand experiences of those teachings from my own father as well.

My grandparents somehow managed to impart a level of empathy, unconditional support and love in their children, that I have never seen before, despite the incredible hardships that they had to work through and deal with in the hell-hole that was reconstruction-era Germany.

To paint a picture for you here:

There is not a single black sheep in this family.

Not a single aunt, uncle or their descendants from this branch of the family, that does not deserve the love and familial bonds that they were blessed with.

My aunt and uncles are some of the kindest people you can possibly ever meet, with every single member of this family being a true "family first" believer; thanks to my grandparents teachings.

If you require ANYTHING? You just say the words and my entire family will drop whatever it is they're doing to help.

And this isn't just lip-service, but lived reality, across the entire spectrum.

We've helped family members move across the entire country with a crew of like 15 people.

My parents, my brother, aunts, uncles, their children all helping together, because that's what family does.

When people speak about familial values and unconditional support, the first thing I think about is my own family; not that it's some form of bullshit lip-service rendered by people trying to take advantage of me.

But make no mistake: This level of familial bond is not an obligation.

You will not be forced to love this family; you simply will love them and want to do your part, naturally.

We were never instilled with a kind of "pure, unconditional support" doctrine of any kind; but rather a doctrine of "if you want love, then the love is going to have to come from you".

If you give love and support in this family, you will be given it back tenfold.

If you distance yourself, which has happened several times over the decades with various members of the family, then your distance will be mirrored, but the doors will never be barred; and everyone's always come back after dealing with whatever they had to deal with.

And then, of course, there's my Dad.

Who is probably the ultimate consequence of this style of parenting and the values imparted upon by my grandparents.

He is the kindest, most forthcoming and friendly person you will EVER meet in your life.

And this is not an exaggeration.

Anyone that has ever met my father was straight up appalled at how disgustingly friendly and kind he is.

Because he lives this doctrine not just within the family, but outward-facing towards ANYONE he meets.

He's literally gotten up in the middle of the night on a work-day, like 3am, to drive out for like an hour to bring somebody to their home that wasn't even part of our family; they were just drunk and needed a ride home. Several times.

When my brother goes out drinking, my father puts aside an "alarm chair" with some easy-to-throw-on-clothes; because he will wake up at any time, and drive out to literally anywhere, to make sure that we always have a ride home and aren't doing anything stupid.

If you need absolutely anything and ask him? He will move heaven and earth to make it work; doesn't even matter what it is.

This is the kind of forthcoming, kind and loving attitude he brings to the forefront in every single one of his actions; all the time.

If he gets mad at you? That's an achievement. And not the good kind, because my dad does not get mad at people.

And all of it stems, ultimately, from the values instilled by my grandparents and the way he interpreted them and grew up around other people living those values alongside him.

I, myself, also live with these values: If you give love, you will receive love back, ten times over.

It is how I was raised, how I will raise my own children (if I ever have any; need wife, please) and how I believe everyone should try to live to aspire to as well.

Because without empathy and love there's no point in any of this shit on the planet, is there?

Thank you for humoring me on this tangent.

I will see y'all in around a week (maybe more).

Stay fresh, maybe re-read some of TAS/ND, speculate about upcoming chapters or maybe just go hug your Grandparents/Parents for me; you never know how long you'll be able to, so don't squander any opportunity to show them love.

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