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The
One and Only Grandma
Written
By Lauren
An excellent baby girl had been born on September 11,
1931 in Torrington, Connecticut.
Her name is Dorothy Collins, also known as grandma to me. She has taught
me a lot through my 11 years of life. Her story starts back in 1931 at
the hospital.
My grandma’s lifetime is nothing like today. She still had the same chores,
like washing dishes, making her bed, and setting the table, but there are
things that have changed. To get to school, she had to walk one mile. One
thing that has changed today in school is she stayed in one classroom,
and we go around to other classrooms. My grandma told me a funny
story I won’t forget. When she was little, she had a pretty yellow comforter
that she really liked. She decided it was so pretty, she cut it. She said
to her Mom, “Nice material mommy.” She did not get into trouble, though.
Grandma has one sister and has had two dogs, one named Skippy, and the
other one is named Sinders. Her favorite quote was “Do unto others as they
would do to you.” That certain quote has taught me to be nice to everyone.
Her favorite games are similar to the ones we play today. Monopoly, Yatzee,
Pick up sticks, Sorry, and Chinese Checkers were games she used to play.
As a child, her most favorite vacation was going to Cape Cod every year.
When she was eleven, she went to Girl Scouts, walked one mile to the movies,
and went to a Fellowship at church.
As a teenager, Grandma did not do as many things as we do today. She stayed
home because gas cost too much for the family car. She did walk to the
library, but her favorite thing she did was listen to the radio, when it
is the television to most kids. Grandma listened to whatever music was
popular. The technology they had back then was radios- there was
no television. When she was a teenager, the most interesting quote to her
was “Whatever you do, do well.” She went to many dances at school throughout
her teenage life. Her daily life was getting up, making her bed,
eating breakfast, and then walking to school. Grandma’s hobbies were taking
piano lessons and Girl Scouts. She did not do any sports. Since Grandma’s
name is Dorothy, she liked being called Dotty or Dot. Her biggest problem
was getting into college because her family did not have a lot of money.
Before Grandma got into college, she was a salesclerk. After college, she
was an accountant. As an adult, if she had a problem, she was determined
and worked hard to fix the problem. Grandma got married to my grandpa in
1952. Grandma met Grandpa when she was canoeing. She was canoeing
and Grandpa was sailing and they just met up. When she was married, she
had a ranch house with three bedrooms. One of the traditions she had and
liked very much was going to her cottage is in Vermont. Grandma always
liked to go there with her kids. “Live everyday like it is your last” is
one of her quotes she thinks is fascinating. One of her memorable
events that she had was going to a family reunion. Her dad was one out
of eight children, so she enjoyed going to see many relatives.
I remember a memorable event that I had with Grandma. In the summer of
2000, I went to visit her in Florida. I went on an airplane for the first
time by myself. I flew down and stayed for a week. She lives in Fleet Landing.
We went out to dinner many times and also went swimming. When we were swimming,
there was a storm coming. It started raining but we stayed in the pool
since the pool was heated. Then it started thundering and we had to get
out of the pool. I enjoyed that trip very much. Another event I can’t forget
is when we made gingerbread men. We used raisins for the eyes and mouth
and frosting for the nose and to color the body. Then, we ate some of them.
They were delicious. That will be a time I won’t forget. It was really
fun. Many people loved my grandma, and as my mom said, “God saw a tear
and kissed away with the smile of a friend.”
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