Me and My Grandma Travelling Essay Example

We had arrived with a Crunch bar. It was a simple gesture, but meaningful in so many ways. I went on those types of adventures with my grandma regularly, but it was not until many years later that I apprehended the amount of importance those trips would have on my life. 

Those adventures were the act of going to nursing homes to visit some of my grandma’s friends or relatives. Honestly, I was slightly uncomfortable at the sight of someone who could barely take care of themselves, but my grandma always treated those people with immense patience and compassion. One of our regular stops was a lady whose favorite candy was a Crunch bar. With the condition she was in, she was rarely allowed to eat what she wanted, including sweets. Receiving a small crunch bar and being able to see my grandma was an activity that this woman thoroughly enjoyed. This taught me how even the smallest of gestures can improve someone’s quality of life, even when they are going through the hardest of times.

I never said much when we were at those places, but I was always sure to listen. Listening to stories was my favorite part about the trips. Every person had their own story and their own past, each of them special and significant in some way. My grandma would also chime in and talk about her childhood or stories that she heard my grandpa talk about. Those were my absolute favorite stories to listen to. Not only were they my favorite because I am related to them, but because my grandpa grew up in the house that he lives in right now, which is located next door to my house. These stories mean so much more because I can picture in my head the locations that he was at and I have had my own adventures in many of those same places. 

Through the stories I heard, I was also able to build an appreciation for my grandparents and everyone who grew up in times before mine. I was often awestruck that they never died of boredom from the absence of televisions and other electronics. More seriously, I gained respect for them through their stories of hardships, the depression, poverty, and the physical labor they went through to allow their families to survive. 

Without the knowledge of those stories and the adventures with my grandma, I would most likely be a stuck-up brat who considers everything she has to be a right, rather than a privilege. Instead, I respect those who are older and have gone through more than me, I look back at each day as a blessing, and I take time to listen to what people say so that one day, I too can be as wise, cultured, and compassionate as my grandparents.