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Amanda Eiler

Mr. Neuburger

Eng 101-132

8 Febuarry 2011

Narrative Essay

A Smile Everyday

Climbing trees at seventy-two what better grandma could you ask for? “She is a much

better grandma than she was a mom.” My dad would say as he reminds me how great he sees

that she is to us. He may see this, but I know this. My grandma taught me the importance of a

smile and how to see the world the way you want to. She made the best of everyday.

She loved angles; the thought of them would bring peace to her sole, the color purple; its

radiance glowed upon her. Smiling and laughter filled as many moments in her life that her soul

could hold. Her goal was to stay as young as long as possible, not only in looks and health but

most importantly inside. My grandma had faith in me and encouraged me to reach beyond my

goals. She held this gift of expanding the imagination and with this gift was able to prove that

anything was and is truly possible. No matter what the years count up to she never passes twelve

at heart.

My grandma Deb was an only child to a fairly wealthy family. One day, almost just as

today, she found herself upset with her father. Harsh words were said just before they went their

separate ways as their morning started. Now late for work and worried about his little girl he said

I love you and bent down to give her a kiss. Upset and mad she refused the kiss and spoke no

words back. Not far down the road as her father was heading across an intersection a man

dismissed his stop sign, and all in a moment’s time her daddy was gone. At the very instant the
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hopeless words that her daddy had died to her, her heart was filled with pain and regret. As her

eyes filled with tears she was now a little girl with no warm father’s arms around her to protect

her from the world or with no “I Love You’s” left to be heard. I believe it was because of this my

grandma holds her joy so close.

As my grandma grew older, she found her passion for dancing grew fonder as well. She

poured all of her emotions into her movements. It wasn’t long before she opened her own

dancing school, and fifteen other studios soon followed. She married and had two sons who

traveled the world with her and also took a part in many shows of hers. The passion of dance she

holds is passed to everyone she has ever meet, even her two boys.

As the years passed, those two little boys grew up and both wed. Soon, I was born, a year

after my cousin Andrew arrived, and in nine years my grandma had brought her total to six

grandchildren, four girls and two boys. Her passion for the arts continued through us. Ever since

the age of three years old she would enroll us in some kind of dance or tumbling and pack all six

of us in her van, and out we would go. Along with the dance, she also took me to piano lessons. I

loved it and hold those time so close. If it was not for her, I would have never been able to feel

the joy she knew through these things. Those times were great because of more than just the

dance and music though, without those times I not know my grandma as I do today and I would

not be who I am today. On the drive we would sing songs, pretend to be pilots in a plain, and

enjoy safety by singing the “Buckle Up to Save Your life” song along with so much more. Every

trip was an adventure with my grandma Deb.

Dancing was not all about self when it came to my grandma. One of my fondest

memories of dancing with my grandma would be the shows we would do at the nursing homes. It

brought such joy to everyone around. The joy of the elderly, the staff, my cousins and I all came
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through my grandma and her love and joy for others around her. She was always watching for

the opportunity to brighten ones day and she did it so well.

Special we are to her and special she is to us! She had so many ways that would send

such a feeling down your spine. When we would be in the shopping cart, we were race car

drivers and in the car, we were the copilots. She dedicated a song to each one of us, one that

touched so close to what and who we are. Every night we would spend at grandma’s we would

do our hair in rollers just as her, and she would tell us stories that were pondered up in her head

and taught us how to tell such great stories too. When we would go to the park and it came time

to leave she would come pick each of us up at our “station,” and we would hop onto the

Grandma Train. I do so many of these very things with my boys because I loved them so. I know

that they love it just as much as I did. I get told all the time I am an awesome mom for having

fun with my boys, and just about everything that is pointed out brings me back to a fond memory

that starts with my grandma. I find all too often people don’t take the time to appreciate; to see

what it is that others around them offer to a life. One of the last lessons my grandma taught me

would be to have appreciation for all that is here with us in this life, every person, every

opportunity, all the beauty around, and all the joy that it can bring if you let it.

One day I got the news that my grandma was diagnosed with cirrhoses of the liver. Her

bright smile started to fade with her memory. Her skin started to have a yellow tint to it. Then the

pain and the itchy skin set in. I wanted and tried to let her know how much she means to me and

how much she has given me; some days I just felt that is was too late and she will never know

truly how much she means to me, and how much she has given to me and my boys. I’m losing

her, and it seems effortless. I pray to go back to the beginning. Back to when the earth, the sun

and the stars all aligned because perfect does not feel so perfect anymore. I know my time is
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short and the days keep on falling, but somehow, no matter how hard it may be, I am not going

to let my grandma go without letting her know how much I love her. She is truly, in so many

ways a Great Grandma.

A little time latter I got a call from my dad saying my grandma had fallen. My heart sank

deep into my stomach. My father went on explaining her injury and ended with she is going into

surgery sometime in the morning, and it is not likely that she will make it through. As fast as I

could get three kids and myself ready and packed we were on our way. Thirteen hours later I was

at the hospital and arrived just in time to walk with her to surgery.

The next hour was one of the longest hours in my life. As the doctor came walking to us I

saw a face filled with relief. This was a great sign to me. She made it though surgery and was on

her way to recovery.

Well the days passed and against my optimistic and hopeful thoughts, she did not get

better, and it became harder and harder to see my grandma with such a fearful, sad face. The

harder it got, the more I knew that she needed me. All she would say over and over was, “Help

me, Help me”. I did not know what to do, so I sang to her and told her the same stories she had

told me so long ago. A smile appeared on her face again, and she sang with me.

A week and a half latter my grandma passed away. Time may change many things, but

my grandma I will always hold close, and I know that she is holding me close too. She was there

for me when I needed to learn to smile and now I was there for her to bring that smile back to her

face and soul. I know that you are resting in peace, and seeing that we are getting our daily smile

in. I love you grandma!