Cool Grandma Episode 2: The Flagpole Plot

One summer my sister and I were only allowed to stay with Grandma if we helped her wash out her cupboards and paint her flagpole. That was the rule our mother set before she dropped us off. We nodded like we understood the seriousness of the chores, even though we were already thinking about the yellow house and the long days waiting for us.

Grandma waited until our mother drove away before she leaned in and told us she did not actually need any help. She said she only told our mother that so our mother would say yes. The way she said it made us feel like we had been invited into a secret. It was simple, but it made us feel chosen.

We never washed the cupboards. We never painted the flagpole. Grandma did not mention either one again. She let us settle into the house the way we always did. We wandered the yard. We stayed up late. We lived inside the kind of summer that felt endless.

I did not realize it then, but that small confession, that tiny plot to get us there, was one of the reasons those summers stayed with me. She wanted us, not the help. And she knew exactly how to make sure we arrived.

Thank you so much, kind friends, for reading, liking, lurking, and commenting! You are important!

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