I just read a story about the importance of family to some individuals, and thought that what Jordan Garner did was worth writing about.
As background, Jordan’s grandfather, Graham Gessey, passed away in 2023. He deeply loved his wife of 30 years, Rosalie Gessey, who served as his caregiver in his last years. Rosalie and Graham traditionally went out for “coffee dates,” and
since the next day was Graham’s birthday, Rosalie was in mourning. “I’m going to have coffee alone because there’s no ladies [here] that want to have a coffee with me,” she messaged him.
“I almost started crying when I saw that message,” Jordan said.
Since Rosalie had enjoyed near-daily coffee dates with Graham when he was alive, Jordan was determined to continue the tradition. Before long, he was in his car making the 12-hour drive from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast, in Queensland. “It was probably one of the toughest drives I’ve had to do in my life because it was raining; it was windy,” he said.
Rosalie, unaware that her grandson was coming to see her,
When he reached Queensland, he surprised some other relatives before making his way to a coffee shop he knew she planned to visit. Armed with flowers and a picture frame, Jordan waited, hiding around the corner. At just the right moment, he greeted his grandmother, who was shocked to see him.
“When she saw me, she instantly just started tearing up,” Jordan said, adding that he had to hold back his own tears as she gave him a hug. He described the look on his grandmother’s face as “priceless.”
“That was probably the happiest moment I’ve had this year, and it was awesome,” Jordan said. “It was honestly the most amazing, amazing day.”
How many would drive twelve hours to surprise their grandmother on a day of her mourning? My guess … “not many,” and for this reason Jordan Garner is a grandson that we can all hold in high esteem.
12/8/24