Our plane landed in Madison,
Wisconsin on a dazzling sunny day. My family exited the plane and went to
luggage pickup. There waiting for us were my grandparents. Such joy we always
have upon seeing them! Living in Oakland, California made it hard to each other
much. I hugged my grandpa with my little arms, inhaling his expensive cologne
and squeezing his soft zigzag sweater. We share little words but wink at each
other; smiling cheesy grins. No one in the world could ever understand our
relationship. We say so much with our eyes and teeth. And then I raced to my
grandma, taking in her stunningly bright-colored sweat suit. I asked her if we
could go to the pool that day. She chuckled and poked my nose saying it was a
bit chilly out for swimming, maybe next time. As my six other family members
followed my grandparents to the cars, (for naturally we could not all fit into
one compacted car,) my mind was on water toys, misty fountains, and melting ice
cream. We left the building and headed into the damp, rubber-smelling,
parking garage. Up ahead I saw an ink black PT-Cruiser and smiled. At seven
years old PT-Cruisers were the “coolest.” I wondered if I would ever get to
ride in one; my imagination went wild at the thought. As we kept walking I kept
looking for my grandpa’s gray and my grandma’s white Honda’s. We were very
close to the PT-Cruiser now. To my astonishment, grandma approached and
unlocked the sleek black PT-Cruiser.
“Grandma!” I whispered loudly,
“This is your car?”
“Yes, dear. Grandma got a new car.
Do you like it?” she replied with a twinkle in her eye.
I, as my seven-year-old mind
thought dramatically, “almost died.” Of course I didn’t just like it; I
LOVED it. What would my friends say? I could hardly wait to tell them! I had
the coolest grandparents ever!
When I think of my grandparents,
three adjectives come to mind: wise, humble, and generous. They think before
speaking and consult before acting. It is these things that have made me forever
selfish of them; for why would I want to share them with anyone else? Could
it be possible to tuck them in my pocket and pull them out whenever I needed
advise? Or maybe just to take me to the pool and let me lap on a dripping ice
cream while sitting in the cool fountain?
