Memories of Grandmother Alice
As a boy, we sometimes let our immediate desires overshadow the more important work that we are here to accomplish. Sometimes we lose track of the things that are most important in life. We sometimes hurt others or ourselves on the path to discovering those things, which are truly most important. The transition from childhood to adulthood always involves encountering old feelings along the road. One of the deepest feelings that we encounter is that of love and relationships.
A encountered my share of hurt along the road to manhood. I fell off the path and forgot my way more than I am willing to admit to anyone. One person was always there to offer the gentle guidance that I needed to get back on track and stay focused on the future. This person in my life was Grandmother Alice [...].
Grandmother Alice stood 55 inches tall, was a big-breasted woman of medium size. She wore her light brown hair parted in the center and cut straight around the neck. She had a high straight forehead, a straight nose, a full grave mouth, which set off her large, brown eyes. Her lids were dark, fringed with gold and moulded close over her eyeballs. This gave her the profile of a staring gilded mask. Her eyes shone with an inner strength, earned from years of struggle and shouldering a great deal of responsibility. I remember her most often wearing a dress made of dark green glistening fabric. It was a straight cut tunic style. Grandmother may have appeared average to anyone else, but to those who knew her, she was a solid cornerstone of the family. She was a magnificent tutor, mentor and icon in my life, and in the life of anyone who knew her.
Grandmother Alice had to quit school in second grade when her mother died. As a young girl Grandmother Alice took on the task of raising her four brothers on her own. This was so very like Grandmother Alice. When one of her own children died later in life, she took in her two grandchildren, raising them as her own. That was just the type of person she was. Whenever someone needed someone to care for them, or needed strength or guidance, Grandmother Alice was always there. Having to take on such great responsibility early in life made her appreciate the things in life, which have true value. The things that had the most value could not be bought with money. Those things were trust, love, and family. She served as counselor and mentor to many. He changed many lives through her words and two loving arms.
Grandmother Alice always had faith, which made her steady as a rock, even in the face of impending disaster. She was Pentecostal and when times got tough she could always rely on the Good Word to carry her through. She always believed that we would never be given more than we could handle, and that the trials and tribulations that we experience in life only serve to make us better people in the end. She always reminded us to look to God in hard times and give thanks in all times. I knew these things all along, but sometimes I forgot in my youthful foolishness. Grandmother Alice was always there to remind me of these things so that I did not get so far off track that I could not get back on again.
Grandmother Alice was always gentle in her ways, but when the situation called for a firm hand, she always did it with a pound of love. She never said a harsh word, even when you had done something bad. She would not spare the scoldings when you really needed it. She made you think about the consequences of your actions. Her punishments were always fair and just. You always went away with a lesson learned. She taught me to think about others before myself, as selfishness was a foreign idea to Grandmother Alice.
It has been said that we change the world by first looking inside ourselves and creating something beautiful. When we find beauty in ourselves, then we can spread that beauty to others, who in turn can spread it to a greater number yet. Grandmother Alice never built a skyscraper, wrote a million-dollar best-seller novel, or flew to the moon. She never traveled the world, and did not have the wealth of Donald Trump, but she accomplished something that none of these people ever did. She spread her love and wisdom to those around her. In this way Grandmother Alice changed the world, only she did it one life at a time, one moment at a time.
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