Tomorrow, my grandfather turns 86 years old.
Sometimes when I look at him ,
I honestly wonder which one of us is younger.
He is still active. He still works every day. And about once a week, he takes care of the yard around his home himself.
At almost 86 years old.
Sometimes I watch him working and think to myself:
This man might actually be stronger than I am.
But his strength isn’t even the most surprising part of his story.
There is something about the way he lives that sounds almost unbelievable in 2026.
In nearly 86 years of life, my grandfather has used a cell phone for only four days.
Yes — 4 days.
And I’m actually the person who bought him that phone.
I thought it would be useful for practical reasons.
If he went somewhere by car, if he was away from home, or if he ever needed to reach us, he would have a phone in his pocket.
To me, it seemed completely normal.
Most of us today won’t even walk to the store without taking our phones.
So I bought him one.
He kept it for four days.
Then he stopped using it.
Those are the only four days in his entire life that he has ever had a cell phone.
No smartphone.
No social media.
No years spent checking messages and notifications.
Almost 86 years of life — and only four days with a phone.
In 2026, that sounds almost impossible.
But to him, it’s completely normal.
If he wants to see someone, life still works much the way it did years ago.
Only two or three of his old friends are still around.
They don’t need a WhatsApp group to stay friends.
They don’t constantly text each other asking, “Where are you?”
They’ve known each other for a lifetime.
They know where to find one another.
And somehow, they still meet.
Our family’s old house is still standing, too.
My grandfather still goes there.
To me, it’s our old family home.
But when I watch him return there, I realize that to him it must be something completely different.
That house holds decades of memories.
It belongs to a time when people didn’t need to send a message before visiting someone.
Friends knew where their friends would be.
People visited each other, sat together and talked face-to-face.
There was no screen demanding their attention every few minutes.
My grandfather has worked for practically as long as he can remember.
Work, movement and responsibility became part of his life when he was very young.
And what amazes me is that even now, as he approaches 86, he still doesn’t want to stop.
He works every day.
He stays active.
He takes care of the things he can handle himself.
And once a week, he still takes care of the yard.
Sometimes he genuinely seems stronger than me.
And watching him makes me wonder:
What will our generation be like at 86?
Will we still have the strength to work?
Will we still be outside taking care of our homes?
Will we still have two or three lifelong friends we meet face-to-face?
And perhaps the biggest question:
Could our generation live without a phone?
My grandfather has done it for almost 86 years.
I bought him one.
He gave it a chance.
Four days later, he went back to the life that had worked perfectly well for him without it.
Technology has given us incredible things and made many parts of life easier.
But watching my grandfather reminds me that some of the most important connections in life don’t require the internet.
Friendship.
Family.
Work.
An old house filled with memories.
A yard you still take care of with your own hands.
And two or three old friends who still know where to find you.
Tomorrow, he turns 86.
When I look at him, I don’t just think about his age.
I think about everything he has lived through, how much the world has changed during his lifetime, and how simple some parts of his life have remained.
86 years of life. Only 4 days with a cell phone. And he still works every day.
And believe me, I still have many more stories about him to tell.
Stories from a world that feels almost impossible to imagine today.
I want to tell you about his memories of seeing things we now consider completely ordinary — including the first television and other technology that once seemed almost unbelievable to him.
There are stories about his work, his old friends, our old family home, and how everyday life used to work without the technology we now depend on.
If you enjoyed my grandfather’s story and want me to share Part 2, write “YES” in the comments. ❤️
Next time, I’ll share another one of his memories from a world that has almost disappeared.
Happy 86th birthday, Grandpa.
May God give you good health and many more years with us. 🙏❤️