I am one of the many who have been given the chance to appreciate my grandparent and I am very determined not to waste it. Throughout my thirteen or fourteen years of my life, I cannot remember even once being irritated by my grandmother although I am sure she has. My earliest clear memories of my grandmother were when I was in my last year of kindergarten.

When I was still young, at the age when I was still in kindergarten, both my parents were still working. Every morning, they would send me over to my uncle’s house where my grandmother lives, so that she would take care of me until it was time for me to go to school. Being a grandmother, she tended to spoil me a little. I would always return to my uncle’s house with my grandmother from the market with a packet of sweets or a bar of chocolates in my hands or stomach. She would also allow me to have whatever I want from the refrigerator. Perhaps I was too young to notice, but I not regret taking disadvantage of it.

My grandmother was also a good neighbour. She would send her neighbour’s child to school with me. Coincidentally, he was my good friend from school, Bashar, one day, I was running around with Bashar. My grandmother told me to stop, not only because it was dangerous but also because the school bus was due to arrive soon. I was having too much fun to notice and although Bashar had obediently followed my grandmother’s advice, I didn’t and ran straight into a wall. At the precise moment, the bus arrived and Bashar got on hurriedly, I remembered my grandmother holding me close while she went to the nearest public phone to call for an ambulance. Funny how my bleeding forehead didn’t stop her from holding me close.

I would never forget the accident, because even if I did my large forehead would remind me of what happened. I like to run a lot when I was young but that accident was the worst. I remembered a crowd of people around me while I was on a stretcher. I later learned that a lot of stitches were done to my forehead. Shortly afterward, I had my annual phototaking session. I had a plus sign on the centre on my forehead, a sign that went away in time.

Around more than half a decade has gone by and I still appreciate my grandmother very much, a lot more than when I was young. I had already lost my grandfather who had diabetes and I want to make every moment count. I would always put on my best behaviour when she would come and visit or stay with my family for a while or when my family brought me along to visit her. I already have a lot of regrets in my life and I do not want to add to the list by mistreating my grandmother.