02/14/2026
A Valentine’s Letter to My First Best Friend
In Loving Memory of Mr. Charles Elerson
My Dearest Granddaddy,
This Valentine’s Day, I find myself writing a love letter to the first man who ever loved me without condition—the man who was my first best friend, my safe place, my HERO. Although you have gone home to be with the Lord, your presence has never left me. I feel you in every breath, every memory, every step I take forward.
Your absence is still unbearable. The world feels quieter without you here. And yet, even in my heartbreak, I know this truth: my life is infinitely better because you were in it. You were the center of my world. You were my universe. Everything good in me is tied to the love you poured into my life.
You believed in me with a confidence so strong, so unwavering, that it became my own. There was nothing you did not believe your grandbaby could do—and somehow, when you said it, I believed it too. You spoke life over me long before I understood what purpose was. You saw greatness in me before I ever saw it in myself.
Right now, I don’t even know what I’m going to miss the most.
Will it be eating ice cream together—with a fork, just the way we did?
Or sharing a good lunch, our corned beef sandwiches, and those chicken wings we loved so much?
Will it be our car rides and coffee dates, just riding, talking, and being together with nowhere else to be?
I loved cooking for you. It filled my heart to take care of you the way you always took care of me. And oh, how I loved dancing with you—my favorite dance partner on any dance floor. Those moments were joy. They were love in motion. They were us.
The truth is, I’m going to miss everything about you. Every habit. Every laugh. Every ordinary moment that now feels sacred because it belonged to you.
Losing you—the most amazing person in my life—has left me with a heartbreak that words still cannot fully carry. Some days, I don’t have the language for the pain. But what I do have is a promise. A promise to keep going. A promise to live boldly. A promise to carry your name, your values, your love, and your legacy forward with honor.
I will continue to make you proud, Granddaddy. In how I love. In how I lead. In how I serve. In how I show up for others the way you always showed up for me.
Thank you for being my first example of REAL LOVE. Thank you for being my constant. Thank you for being my favorite person on the planet.
I love you forever.
Happy Valentine’s Day in Heaven.
Love always,
Your First Grandbaby.
Dr. Shauna L Weatherspoon
