I had other adventures at Grandma’s, too. The yard behind her yellow house felt like its own little world, and I spent most of my time exploring it. One afternoon I found a small garter snake near the back steps. It slid through the grass like it belonged there, and I picked it up without thinking. My sister screamed and ran, which only made me laugh and chase her with it. I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just a kid who thought the whole thing was funny.
Grandma didn’t. She stepped outside, saw what I was doing, and told me to stop. Her voice wasn’t sharp, but it carried enough weight to make me put the snake down. I watched it disappear into the grass and felt a little guilty for bothering it. My sister stayed mad for a while, but the moment passed the way summer moments do. Quick and warm and already fading.
Most evenings I caught lightning bugs in the yard. Grandma gave me a canning jar with holes punched in the lid, and I filled it with tiny blinking lights. I loved watching them drift around inside the glass. After a while Grandma told me they wouldn’t live long in the jar. She said it was a shame they were stuck in there. I looked at them and wondered if they missed their families. The thought settled in my chest, and I opened the lid.
They floated out one by one, rising into the warm air like they knew exactly where they were going. After that, I only watched them. I didn’t try to keep them again.
I didn’t understand it at the time, but Grandma was showing me how to treat small things with care. Snakes. Lightning bugs. Sisters. Even myself.
I think about that now when my own grandkids are near me. I hope they feel the same steady kindness I felt in her yard.
Thank you so much, kind friends, for reading, liking, lurking, and commenting! You are important!
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15 comments
Your Grandma sounds like a wonderful woman. I caught lightning bugs with my great-nieces and let them keep them as night lights for the night then we let them out in the morning.
That sounds lovely. What a great aunt you are! I’m so happy you shared that with me.
Your grandma was a wise woman, and definitely very cool! She taught you a valuable lesson, there. 😎 That’s why you are the kind person we know today. 💖
Thank you, Debbie. She really was wise, and she had a way of teaching without making it feel like a lesson. I’m glad that came through in the story. I appreciate your kind words.😊🌺
Que sensibilidade linda! Suas memórias de infância na casa da vovó parecem um conto de fadas real. Me emocionei muito, pois também me lembrou dos meus avós e de como esse amor nos molda para a vida inteira. Lindo demais! ❤️✨
This was so lovely
I also used to catch lightning bugs, but that’s a big no on the snake, Kymber. I’d have probably told on you, lol.
Her steady kindness even reaches your followers. . .
Being a grandma is an important job, but the best one in the world!
“even myself” <–yes. <3 Lovely.
Another beautiful lesson in life, Kymber. What a privilege to have had a grandmother like her. Thank you for sharing her wisdom.
Grandmas are so special and teach us so many things 🥰
What a lovely story of your relationship with your grandma.
A very sweet memory, Kymber. ❤️🙏🏻🥰
What a beautiful and heartwarming memory! ❤️
Your story took me straight into Grandma’s yellow house, the warm summer yard, the little snake disappearing into the grass, and those magical lightning bugs glowing inside a jar. Sometimes the simplest childhood moments leave the deepest lessons.