My Grandmother

As the sun slowly set behind the big blue mountains ,it painted the sky into a heavenly motif with all the hues of the rainbow. I sat on the porch of my house overlooking my two car garage as my daughter, Milan and her friends ran circles around the cars,their childish laughter filling the quiet evenig with joyous sounds and cheerful fervor.a wry smile appeared on my face as I rememeber my days of running around and the anxiety i gave my grandmother in those days.then my thoughts shifted to my grandmother who died several years and i thought to myself ,as the sun crest behind the mountains and the birds choraled as if heralding a the end of the day,  hoped i made her proud. For all that i gain in life and all the values i can now pass on to my childern ,nothing in my life would be possivble today if not for the positive values my ‘mammy’ instiled in me at a young age. my grandmother raised my siblings and I in a two bedroom house, nestled at the bottom of my hilly village just on the outskirts of the city. I was the second of seven children,four boys and two girls ,so i was always lost in the crowd.our house was quint but well structured,on hot days the sun heated up the galvanised roof so the cold nights was warm ,and when the rain fell the house was cool. My grandmother was the sole breadwinner in our household, she worked twelve hour days and then came home and worked four hours more.

Despite her small salary she tried her best to provide us with the basics ,and always reminded us that every ounce of her blood sweat and tears was so that we would never have to work as hard as she did. one day as we gatgerd around the table for our second meal of the day ,and we chatted loudly and played footsie, i recalled stealing a sandwich from my sisters plate and before i could take one bite ii felt the stinging sensation of a cold pot spoon on my back, i screamed in pain and rusehed of to bed in fear of a few more hurried blows. As i lay on my tatterd mattress ,sniflling uncontrollably, withe ruivers of tears running down my bony cheeks,my granny cradled me in her arms ,gently wiping my tears she retotted ,that it hurt her more than me,  but she reminded me that stealing small would lead to stealing big and every time i had that thought, remenber the iron spoon. my school bordered an affluent neighbourhood, the children from that area would be dropped of to school in these big shiny cars with ornaments on the hood that looked like tiny angels.I would often rush to school early in the morning to sit on the school steps and watch ,one by one , red blue black and green ,all shapes and sizes these shiny auto mobiles pulled up and dropped off the snoytty brats ,who in my opinion didnt deserve to ride in such luxory.

One day my classmate , jake, a snotty redfaced brat ,invited me to his birthday party and alluded that his father would drive me to his house . i was so eleated ,i had never been in a car before and i rushed home to share the good news with gramma. My grandmother was not one for too much emotion , she calmly asked me for the details and went about her day.On the day of the party ,my granmother prepared my sunday best outfit , my grey trousers with the seam pressed neatly down the center,my lily white long sleeved shirt ,as crispy as the biscuits i had for breakfast and my black shiny shoes that only came out the box once a year when we go to church new years day. I was ready ,granny walked me to the school , all the village children teasing me about my wedding day , but i paid them no mind , i was about to fulfil my dream. as we stood waiting at the school yard time flew by and none came ,after what seemed like an eternity my grandmother beckoned me to go home i didnt want to but i dare not defy her when she gives me that look,so i left for home sobbing quietly like i just lost my favorite toy and sat on the steps to my home waiting on my granny.

My grandmother came home in a huff ,like a raging but seeing an abundance of red ,flew in the kitchen and staterd preparing dinner ,not one soul in the house made a peep.i would later learn that my grandmother visited the home of my classmate ,whose parents told her hat their son invited me in error and if she wished she can take a few snaackes home to me.My grandmother was a humble person who would always teach us to respect each other regardless pf raace or class,though she never shared her encpunter with me ,it was rumoured that my classmates parents was thought that lesson with some choice vocabulary words ,thta my granmother once rinsed my big btohers mouth with sopa for using.

I left home to attend collage and would ofyen return home every vacation to visit.granny would always enquire how is my school work going,if im studying hard ,about my love life ,ans we would laufgh as i share my collage life with her, I could joy and pride in her as i relate stories to her about classmates caught stealing or cheating, I would bring her my awards and trophies and shw would always remark to me the trophier are nice but my charaxtor is more valuable.as the sun finally completed it descent and the moon got its first peek, I felt the warm hands of my fiance massaging my neck,the aroma of fresh baked bread filling the evening breeze and the crickets began their nightly chours. As i sat there looking at my lifes work, my family, I spared a thought once more for my grandmother. Although she has long gone, her life lessons and her intolerance for indiscipline and antisocial behaviour has been for me, not only a pattern to emulate but a pattern i can pass on to my daughter.