Some grand(ma) memories
Our first ever companion in life for joy and happiness is mostly our grandmother
One evening while taking a stroll down the nearest park, I saw this child playing the Game of Statue with her grandmother. Every single minute the little one would shout ‘Statue’ and her grandmother would remain as static as possible for a few seconds until the girl would say ‘Release’. I’m not sure when they must have begun playing this, but while I was around the playtime was nothing less than 40 minutes. Finally, the granny said she was tired and that they should take a break for a few minutes.
While the grandmother sat on the nearest bench, the girl ran towards the swing for her next round of evening pleasure. There was something about this grandma-granddaughter duo that had me transfixed. From their appearance I could guess that the granddaughter, named Christine, must be a five-yearold and the grandmother in her late 60s. But despite her age the grandmother was displaying the energy of a young woman while playing with her little bundle of joy.
As Christine came running hearing her grandmother call out her name, she hugged her tightly as if they were seeing each other after a long gap. I was eager to know what they both were up to next, which happened to be time for some candy floss followed by a visit to the nearest butterfly park. The mere thought of candy floss made my mouth water. Who does not like candy floss? But since I did not know where I would find one, I decided to follow this adventurous duo who could lead me towards the desired destination ‘candy floss’.
Grandma gave company to Christine practically into doing everything, including relishing the candy floss like a toddler. After which they both moved towards a small enclosure within the park popularly known as butterfly park. Christine was excited on seeing so many different butterflies at one place. From time to time she put forward her queries about the different kinds of butterflies that she as seeing and the grandmother was trying to answer to best of her abilities.
Just as the sun was about to sign off for the day, the grandmother proclaimed they had to leave as Christine’s mother would be at the gate to pick her up. She was so right, when they reached the gate she was there waiting eagerly for her daughter. She hugged her mother like Christine had done couple of hours ago and drove past me to be unseen just like the sun.
I stood there for few more minutes thanking the universe for bringing back my grandmother’s memories and of those moments of fun and joy that I always derived when she was around. The parks, the swings, the candy floss and butterflies are still there, but what we need is a grandma.