The day I heard my grandma was coming to live with us, it was the most exciting news I had. I was always asking my mom when she would finally arrive, are we going to pick her up! I was just very eager to her and it was much more exciting to think that she was coming to live with us.
I always loved spending time with my grandma, she was very kind and compassionate and everyone knew her for her generosity right from when she was young. It gave me joy everyday that she was the one I was named after, I love the name Lydia and I was happy I shared it with my grandma.
Soon she finally arrived home and I still remember how I gave her a very sweet hug and helped her with her bags and to her room, the gifts she got for us ranged from peanuts, biscuits and so on...that's why she was my favorite grandma by the way hehe.
Living with Grandma was like having a gentle breeze constantly flowing through our home. Every day after school, I would rush to her room, eager to hear more about the old days.
I remember my grandma would always give me some money to buy peanuts and satchet milk.
But her illness became worse day by day, she now needed help to do most things she did alone. I would hold her hand to support her when she needs to get up, she needed help to go to the toilet, my mom always washed her clothes for her and I also tried to help. Her meals changed to a sick person's meal. Days I would volunteer to skip school just to stay with my grandma and help her with stuffs she needed.
Since my grandma was a rare gem, I used the opportunities I had to spend time her and learn a lot about life. Yes life is hard but we can make it easier for ourselves, we can always stay happy, try to spread love and happiness, stick to our friends and most importantly always be generous and hospitable. My grandma didn't just say these words, I learnt it from everything she did, her example teaches strikingly.
In this part of the world when someone gets old and sick, many treat her as if she's a witch and most people literally even call them witches, I believe this hurts the feelings of old people and it is something that should not be said to them, they need all the love and encouragement and cursing. That's what I tried to do for my grandma, whenever I go out to play, I like to take some moments to run back home and check on my grandma and I was happy for the blessings I received from her everyday.
Soon I was sad my grandma was going to stay with my aunt who lives a bit far from us, she had to go, reasons best known to them but I wanted so bad to go with my grandma, my mom managed to hold me back and my grandma promised to return and reminded me that I had to still attend my school here, she thanked me so much for sticking with her all this time...
Even as she travelled to my aunt's place, my siblings and I would always take the bus to go visit her there and to know how she was doing. Sometimes my mom would also go with us.
Then came the news of her death. It was like the sting of a bee—sharp, sudden, and unbearably painful. I felt deeply pained, feeling the loss of not just my grandma, but also a part of myself that was so closely tied to her. Yet, even in the midst of my grief, I found comfort in the memories we had shared, in the love and wisdom she had bestowed upon me. Remembering the type of person she was and everything she taught me gives me joy, and I wish to see her again in paradise soon...
My grandma’s legacy lives on in me, in the name we shared and in the lessons she taught me. Though she is no longer here, I carry her spirit with me, a constant reminder of the love that stood by me through thick and thin.
Image generated using my prompt on playground.com
