Well since i was visiting my grandmother i acted like i always do when i see her which is happy and nice. She has bein diognosed with cancer since i could remember and i never treated her any differently because she is ill. Of course i feel bad for her and wish that she wasn't ill but the best thing i could do at this point is give her things and help her with whatever she wants. However me acting sorry for her and giving her what she wants is simply due to the result of human vulnerability and mortality. I feel as though i need to make her life easier any way possible for that sickness must make her life really difficult.
Insights from the the book, "Tuesdays With Morrie" apply to the situation of the person i visited because in the book it talked about howw people who visited morrie felt pity for him and wanted to give Morrie anything he wanted. In that same way i felt as though i had to give my grandmother anything she wanted due to the pity i felt for her because she is ill.
Once i reached my grandmother's house she opened the door and i greeted her with a huge. After greeting her we decided to take a seat in The kitchen when i noticed that she couldn't walk to fast and she looked as if walking took alot of energy out of her. So i helped her by letting her hold on to me while giving her support by telling her to not try so hard. We then talked about how was school going, she then talked about her past, and how my family in Ecuador are doing. Even though these stories usually take hours i don't mind one bit and actually enjoy them because i cherish the time i have with my grandmother because any day colud be her last.
So after like two hours of listening to my grandmothers stories she went to the fridge to get something to eat when she realized that she had no food. She then told me that she was going to go to the grocery store. Even though the store is two blocks away i felt as though she shouldn't go to the store while i'm there and should only relax. That's when i said," Dont worry about it i'll go to the store for you just let me make a list of the things you want and i'll be sure to get it for you." So i went to the grocery store and got what she wanted and 20 minutes later i brought her back the foods that she wanted.
After she thanked me for bringing her, her food i felt really good because i feel so bad for her and since she is so ill i feel as though she needs to relax and not push herself to do things. About two minutes later my grandmother decided to start making some soup for the both of us. While the soup was cooking my grandmother and i started watching television. We watched telemundo and the shows had us laughing. After thirty minutes the soup was ready we went to the table and ate soup. I told her thank you and how good the soup was. Talked some more for a little while eating. After i was done with the soup i told her i had to go and hugged her good bye and went on my way back home. It was a good day and i felt really happy because i spent time with my grandmother.
the depth of your writing is very good, and I like what you did.This story made me feel as if i was also there listening to you and your grandmothers conversation. The quote were you said," In that same way i felt as though i had to give my grandmother anything she wanted due to the pity i felt for her because she is ill." This stands out to me because you seem to tell everything like how you feel at that moment and what you said at that moment. GOOD JOB!!!!
ReplyDeleteJohnny, my favorite line in your post was,
ReplyDelete"Even though these stories usually take hours i don't mind one bit and actually enjoy them because i cherish the time i have with my grandmother because any day could be her last." It is so true that the moments with the people we love, whether they are well, but in particularly when they are sick can be the most meaningful. I connected with your story because I too spent a great deal of time with my Grandmother before she died and I have to say that even though those moments were bittersweet I wouldn't take them back;not for me or my children. My son recently stated that he wants to go visit his great-grandma on her birthday, at her grave. I said "sure, that is a nice idea." My children, I am proud to say, have embrace the life and death of this woman because partly I wasn't afraid,I embraced her dying and death and so do they.
Some final thoughts: Do you think that this unit and the book helped you to appreciate the time you have with your grandmother even more powerful? Do you think about other mitzvahs (good deeds)you can do for her while she is still alive?
Thanks for sharing your ideas.
Melissa
Dear Johnny,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your piece. i wrote about visiting my grandmother too. you have a tendency to describe the physical aspect as to what was happening as well as the emotional one, "I feel as though i need to make her life easier any way possible for that sickness must make her life really difficult. "
my favorite part was when you wrote: "Even though these stories usually take hours i don't mind one bit and actually enjoy them because i cherish the time i have with my grandmother because any day colud be her last." It seems to me you were more happy about having that time with her than hearing/listening to the stories. i know i felt that way about the times i went to visit with my grand mother. Now if this is the same for you, but i appreciate it more because i know she is sick. im happy i went to visit her on so many occasion, i also feel grateful especially now because we know time to quickly becoming more limited. good piece
arden
arden