Topic - To remember and reflect
It's Nice to Visit Your Grandpa
Haley boot-cut jeans dark, Landon supper skinny jeans destroyed, a knit sweater, brown leather knee-high boots, an itouch, a new Michael Kors handbag, a pearl necklace, a pair of diamond ear-rings, a gold Tiffany's charm bracelet. ..
"Lights out," I could hear my mom yelling from down the hall.
"Night mom," I yelled back.
"Don't stay up too late baby, I love you."
"Love you too mama." I don't really want to go to bed now, but tomorrow's a big day, and I could use the rest. Looking over my Christmas list one last time before I head to bed, I'm feeling quite confident that tomorrow is going to be a productive day. And if I've forgotten anything, well, I can always add it to my list later.
Beep- beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep. I'm up I'm up I thought to myself, my right hand frantically searching to turn off my alarm. This is it I thought, jumping out of bed and running to my closet to get dressed, my favorite day of the year: SHOPPING DAY! Also know as Black Friday. I'm so anxious to get to the stores I feel like ants are about to crawl out of my skin.
"Oh, and we're stopping to see Pap before we go to the mall," says my mom. Pap's my grandpa, he had fallen and broken his hip about a month ago and mom goes to see him every morning.
"Can't we wait to see him after we're finished shopping? Everything is gonna be gone by the time we get there!" I whined.
"No, we are going now. You know, sometimes it's nice to visit your grandpa."
We have all day to visit him I thought, it's not like he's going anywhere. Whatever, I know when to hold my tongue and today I certainly don't want to make my mama mad.
When we got there it smelled of moth balls, Pepto-Bismol, and vomit. Not exactly the smell I want in my lungs at seven o'clock in the morning but I wasn't about to complain. When we got to the physical therapy room Pap was in, I ran over and wrapped my arms around him. We all missed him last night at Thanksgiving dinner and I hadn't seen him for at least a week now. I told him we were off to the mall and he said to make sure I bought something pretty to wear on Christmas. Sitting there on his lap I hadn't realized how much I'd missed him. It was time to go though so I kissed him on the cheek and told him I would see him soon.
For the next nine hours my mom and I shopped till we dropped. The day was better than I expected. Not only did I get everything on my list plus more; instead of making me go home and finish up last night's dishes, my mom let me see a movie with my friends. By the time the movie finished it was dark out and one of my friend's mom was nice enough to take me home. She didn't take me home though, she took me to my grandparent's house.
When we pulled up there were a great number of cars I didn't recognize there. Oh boy! A party I thought. As I was getting out of the car though I saw my mom standing in the drive way waiting for me it looked like. That's weird, what's my mom doing out here instead of inside? All of a sudden I was more confused than ever and I could hardly see straight. Things were becoming more blurry to me then white noise on a TV. I had this feeling in my gut that something happened; an event I knew would eventually take place, but never to me?
"Pap passed away this afternoon," my mom said with tears in her eyes as she put her hand on my shoulder. My heart sank - everything was spinning around me now and I felt this sick reaction in my stomach like a child on the spinning teacups ride at the county fair. Except for I could see him, me sitting on his lap just earlier this morning. Nobody I knew has ever died before. I didn't understand what was happening and I couldn't hear a word my mom was saying. I ran through the house as fast as I could to his bedroom and shut the door. I didn't want to see anyone there or talk to anyone there; I just wanted to be alone. Tears running down my now warm cheeks, I was so angry. I didn't know why. I just sat there on his side of the bed. I could still smell him if I laid my head on his pillow. I loved the way he always smelled of fresh shaving cream from having just shaven and this particular cologne he wore. He was my grandpa.
That night I spent with my grandma, Mimi. We laughed, we cried, and we talked to each other. She said to me that we shouldn't be sad he left us, that instead we should be celebrating his passing because now he's with God and the angels in heaven. That he was looking down on us wanting us to be happy. She also said he was happier there because now he wasn't in any pain.
That Christmas I got everything on my wish list. I was even wearing my new dress I picked out Black Friday like Pap told me to. But sitting there looking around at everyone I loved and thanking them for all my presents, I couldn't help but notice one person that had always been there wasn't there this year. For the first time Christmas wasn't about how many presents I got or what was underneath all the beautiful bows and wrapping. It was about sharing a holiday and spending time with people who care about you as much as you care about them.
Okay I'll admit, my greatest vice to this day is still shopping, spending money, and indulging in material things I could easily live without. But, I've realized that nothing and no one can take the place of my family and loved ones. That nothing in the world could replace the precious time I get to spend with them every day, week, and month of the year. Growing up I've gotten everything I've ever asked for, literally, and for that the only thing I ask now is to be able to spend the little time I have left with them and show them how much they mean to me before it's too late.
I can't visit my grandpa anymore. I can't wrap my arms around him or kiss him on the cheek anymore. I can talk to him and love him though. I can even hear funny stories of him when he was younger that Mimi tells me every Friday when I bring her ice-cream.
Because you know, it's nice to visit your grandma.
Pap's my grandpa; he had fallen and broken his hip about a month ago and mom goes to see him every morning.--- this was a run on sentence, so I fixed it with a semi-colon.
When we got there it smelled of moth balls, Pepto-Bismol, and vomit. ---- wow, you are a natural writer, I think! This is very good...
Oh boy! A party I thought. ---- terrible, this must be a harsh memory.
I really like your writing style! I am your biggest fan:
Okay, I'll admit, my greatest vice to this day is still shopping, spending money, and indulging in material things ...
This is really one of my favorites. It has a certain quality... like, reflecting the "little kid" that still lives in you. I think one way to improve this might be to add some very intellectual observations; for example, you can cite a book by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, or you can cite a professional journal article. Then it will have the perfect blend of artistically portraying little-kid innocence and brilliantly portraying your intellectual sophistication.
I look forward to buying your first novel!
