Dear Grandma,
I have heard that youth is wasted on the young. As I think about when I was younger, I realize how much I underappreciated you. Maybe I was too young to capture your wit and humor. All that I could see was a little old lady. With awesome earlobes. Now I realize that through all those years, you didn’t really get upset with me when I would twiddle your earlobes, you were merely playing along.
Perspectives certainly change considerably when people grow up and more so, when they become parents. It wasn’t until Arik, Amber and Heather moved away and started brooding that I realized how fortunate I was to grow up surrounded by family. I guess that I took it for granted that people don’t move away from where they grew up. I can attest to the love that you have doled out to not only your daughters, but also to all thirteen of your grandchildren. And don’t forget about the great-grandkids.
I remember one summer where you came to watch Heather and me for a week. There was a time that I was in the backyard with the neighbor doing something that I wasn’t supposed to be doing. I can’t remember what it was that I was doing, but my friend asked me about you catching us. I told him that you were too slow to catch us. I’ve always regretted that. It has never been in my nature to be mean, but I think that the older that I get, the more cruel it seems to be mean to such a sweet lady.
That same week, I remember taking a stack of comic books into the bathroom and reading theme on the floor when I was supposed to be taking a shower. I ran the water. I splashed a little on the floor. I dampened a towel. I had thought of everything. Then you told me that you wanted to give me a hug before I went to bed. Then you put your hand on my back and felt that it was dry. You called me out on it and I realized that you weren’t a pushover. I respected that.
To me, you will always be ice cream grandma. I know that you would go out of your way to make sure that you had ice cream at your house if you knew that I was coming over. Thank you for that. Thank you for coming to pick me up for church every Sunday. And thank you for letting me sit in the back row and goof off with Tyree. Thank you for always remembering my birthday. Thank you for being such a loving, caring, and, once I was old enough to understand it, a funny grandma. I love you and I hope that this raises your spirits.
Love,
Adam
P.S. I know that you can’t say who your favorite grandchild is, but I think we can both agree that I’m in the top ten percent.
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