Change Anything

If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?

My first thought was 'I'm not going to air dirty laundry in public'. My second thought was 'Too right!' and my third thought was 'So choose something else.'

If I could change anything, I would want my Grandma to have lived a long, healthy life. One evening she wasn't feeling too well, and she went to bed early. She either had a huge stroke or heart attack, and died instantly. Grandma was a very practical person, very generous, and incredibly loving.

If I could change anything about the way I was raised, I would choose to have my Grandma have a hand in raising me for longer. We lived next door to Grandma and Grandpa. We would see them multiple times each day, and they were a huge part of our lives. When Grandma died, Grandpa slipped away from us too.

One of my favourite memories of Grandma was the annual birthday shopping trip. It would start in her sitting room. She would tell me the price limit, and we'd talk about what sort of things I might like to receive as a gift. Then we'd walk into town and hit the shops. We'd go from shop to shop, talking, laughing, comparing possible purchases. When the right gift had been decided upon, Grandma would pay and then we would head off to the Italian ice cream parlour.

The gift was wonderful, but it was spending time alone with Grandma that was the best part. She was always busy, always doing. However when a grandchild wanted to talk to her she would give them her full attention. "Wait a moment, and I'll be right with you." and she was.

It was also such fun baking with her, making ice cream, and learning how to sew and knit.