“I luv u gma” by Kailee H

     The morning is fair, the rainy season has come and gone once again. Every morning my mom wakes me up unreasonably early. School starts at 8:30, yet here she is rubbing my back, ever so gently, telling me it’s time to get up at 5. At first I pull the blanket over my head and hide under until she starts tickling me and I have no choice but to surrender and roll out of bed. My mom always picks out my clothes for the day and brushes her teeth with me while I imitate her every move. She helps me put on my clothes and we head downstairs. She has already made breakfast, I see steam rising from a bowl. I get on my tippy-toes and grasp the countertop trying to peek at what’s inside. She picks me put and sets me on the skyscraper like chair, I look in the bowl and it’s my favorite, oatmeal and raisins with brown sugar. I eat my food in .2 seconds and ask for more, but it’s already 6 o’clock and we have to leave.
     We walk out the door and all I want is to do is curl back up in my blankets. My mom still has me sit in a booster chair whenever I go in the car. I’m already 7, I think I’m big enough to ride without one. She hates how I put my hands all over the car window, but I love to draw pictures and aggressively point out dogs and birds that we pass by. I also love singing to the music she puts on every morning, which includes Veggie tales and Hannah Montana. It is tradition for us to spend time with my grandma every morning. We arrive at her house, I am taken out of the car and I run to the front door. I have a special knock whenever I go to my grandma's, so she knows who is at the door. “Knock.knock......knock.knock.....knock.” As my mom walks up, my grandma opens the door with the same smile on her face like every other day. We enter her house and I go straight for the candy bowl, I shove a hand full of m&m’s into my mouth. I glance over at my mom and she gives me the death stare, so I walk away from the bowl. My mom and grandma start talking, but I don’t pay attention and I walk over the my grandpa’s bed side. I always thought it was odd that he never got out of bed, talked, or left the house. But I loved the way he looked at me and smiled whenever I entered the room. I was his favorite, I helped my mom prick his finger and give him medications, but I didn’t know what was wrong with him. I would sit on him and tell him about the games I play with my friends and how bad I wanted a little sister to play with as well.
      When it’s time for us to leave, my mom would have to pry me off of my grandpa because I loved to sit with him. By the time my mom had finally got me off I was in tears and would lay on the floor refusing to leave. The only way I would calm down was the promise of coming back tomorrow. We said our goodbyes and I was off to school.
      Our mornings are the same everyday, nothing changes. But my birthday is coming up and I am so excited for presents and cake. A week has passed and tomorrow is the big day. But this morning we don’t go see my grandma. I think nothing of it because my mom said we would visit later in the day. When we arrive to my grandma's house, the whole family is there. Including people I didn’t know, who had on weird blue outfits and looked as if they were guilty of a crime. As soon as I enter the house, I rush over to my grandpa and grab his hand. The enjoyment on

my face makes him smile and everyone around starts tearing up, trying hold back from bursting into tears. Even my mother is acting this way, she never cries, and in this moment I knew that something was wrong.
     As I’m still holding onto my grandpa's hand, I yell across the room to my mom and ask “Momma, why are you sad?” She walks over to me, kneels down and responds “Oh my sweet little ladybug, you are too young to understand. Just remember the smile you put on your grandpa’s face everyday.” I am still confused and my mom pulls me away from my grandpa. I don’t resist her because of the way she looks at me, it was unlike any face she has ever made. One person in a blue outfit walks over to my grandma and asks her if she was “ready in begin”. At these words everyone becomes silent, waiting for her answer. My grandma replies a simple, “Yes”. The people in blue outfits gather around my grandfather and start removing the tubes that are connected to him. They stop and there is one tube left to remove, this one is connected to my grandpa’s nose. I wonder why they would hesitate, but a minute later they remove it and my grandpa closes his eyes. Everyone is crying but I am emotionless. My mom picks me up and hugs me tight. She whispers to me “I love you”.
     We have a new morning tradition now, leaving notes for my grandma. Every morning we would drive to her house and put post-it notes on the screen door. They would say “l luv u gma”,”u ar my hero”, “I wil aways be ur favorit”, “gandpa is in heven now”.