Back when I was growing up we didn’t have a car so we depended on family members for a ride here or there and we were very grateful. When my sister and I went to visit our grandma, she lived about a hundred miles away, we had to ride the train. At first the train ride was scary but we had each other so we made fun out of it and finally enjoyed the ride. My grandma, my daddy’s mother, was a widow and lived in a tiny home in the country along with her two bachelor brothers. After our arrival it was obvious that our great uncles hadn’t spent much time around younger ones. We were like little chatterboxes and both asked lots and lots of questions and didn’t get hardly any answers. Their response was sort of like “it’s really none of your business little girls.” We soon got on both uncles’ nerves so they made a deal with us. They promised to give each of us a dime if we would keep quiet for an hour or so now and then. That didn’t work because neither one of us got a dime all the while we were there.
Grandma tried her best to keep us occupied by teaching us some etiquette like how to properly carry an English china cup and saucer full of tea up and down a couple of steps without spilling it. We weren’t very good at that either but we gave it a try over and over again! My sister and I just made each other smile while going up and down the steps trying not to spill the tea.
When our visit ended we were headed back home on the train filled with lots of great memories and lots of things to talk about.
Our uncles did bid us farewell and even gave us a hug and a few years later they came to our home to visit.
The moral of this story is make the best out of what life holds for you. Be kind and be grateful for each other.
—Helen Valcaniant,
Imlay City
