Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Grandma Peg.. <3

So i recently just found out that my Grandma Peg is really sick.. ahhh i hate it when stuff like this happens. If she was to die, my family would fall apart. So as I was looking through my computer i found the essay i wrote on my Grandma Peg and it brought tears to my eyes. Here it is ...

The last leaf falls as I drive up Harrington road. My old Grand Am creeks from every bump I hit, and the trees that were once filled with millions of colors, are now bare and being taken over by the first signs of the winter season. As I start to venture deeper and deeper into the woods, I see a little house with a single stream of smoke coming from the chimney. I drive closer and closer and see a little old lady cooking in the window. As I pull into her drive way the smell of fresh apple pies fill my nose. I smile and think to myself, “Grandma Peg.”

If Greene ever had a celebrity, Grandma Peg would be it. Everyone knows her for her cooking, her farm, and her warm welcoming heart to anyone she meets. She is always helping at charity events, cooking amazing pies that make you mouth water just by the smell, and whistling some Frank Sinatra tune. Grandma Peg can be dressed in her finest Sunday clothing for church one moment and then applying war paint as she prepares for a paint ball war with my brothers the next. She is always on the sidelines watching soccer games, or in the audience applauding me at the final curtain of the school play.

Grandma Peg is the first person to help you when there is a problem. She is always there handing you the first tissue after you spill your hopes and dreams, and the first person to sneak you a homemade cookie still warm from the oven. Her hands are rough from her long days working on her farm or at The Corner Restaurant where she greeted everyone as if they were part of her own family.

Grandma Peg to me is the pure definition of love. She never once has been selfish or rude, and is always willing to give a hug to anyone in need. When things get rough and I find myself backed up against a wall, I can always count on Grandma Peg to be right behind me helping me up.

Last year I received the lead role in the Footlights production of Oliver. My dream had finally come true; I was the star of the show. I was ecstatic and probably ran all the way home that day with the biggest smile on my face. However, my high was soon simmered when I found out that both sets of my grandparents were going to be in Florida when Oliver was being performed. I felt like I was driving full speed and then hit a tree with no air bag to soften the blow. I was pissed. I called my Grandma Kay and PopPop begging them to stay for the show. After a tearful plea, they told me to “suck it up” and that it was “just a play, nothing that important anyway (they did come home last year though, for my Cousin Matt’s senior play).” I was backed up against the wall and felt myself getting more and more depressed. However, to my rescues was Grandma Peg. “Drewby, I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she said with that sparkle in her eye. And sure thing, on opening night when the curtains were pulled back and I was standing in the center of the stage, there sat Grandma Peg, front row; with that same loving smile that can make the meanest man alive melt.

I feel that God sends angles down to earth to help you grow up, learn, and guide you through life. Grandma Peg is truly one of those angles. There is no word in any dictionary that can do justice to the love I have for Grandma Peg. She has changed my life in so many ways and has opened my eyes so wide, that it is impossible to ever shut them. She’s told me stories of the world and encouraged me to dream big and never get discouraged. Grandma Peg is not just my grandma but my friend, my role model, and my hero.

“Drewby! I was just thinking about you,” she says as she slips the first fresh cookie into my hand. Wearing her maroon sweater and smiling from ear to ear. “I love you Grandma,” I reply.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
djm.

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