Bettie Week 16: Where My Childhood Lived
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When I look back at my childhood, the first things that come to mind aren’t flashy birthday parties or fun sleepovers with my friends; they are fond memories of my grandparents, who took care of me almost while my parents went to work. Almost every day, they would prepare meals, take me out on walks to the local playgrounds, play various board games, and even secretly sneak a little bit of delicious snacks my parents did not allow. They were not just babysitters; they were my constant companions, teachers, secret-keepers, and practically my second set of guardians. I was raised, in many ways, by my grandparents, and now, as I grow older, I understand just how much that has shaped me.
When I first started school, I attended Brookvale for transitional kindergarten, as I was born after the cut-off date. Since school would only last a half-day, from around 8:10 to 11:30, my parents would not be able to pick me up, and so, my grandparents would always be waiting for me at the school gates, searching for a small girl with a bob cut in the midst of the dozens of students. They would always embrace me with a warm hug and hold both of my hands as we walked away from the school.
My grandparents also made sure that I was well-fed and enjoyed watching me devour my favorite dishes. For about three out of the five weekdays, my grandparents would take me to eat dim sum right after school ended. They would allow me to choose anything I wanted, and I would almost always order their egg tarts and pineapple buns. We practically became regulars at the restaurant, and at some point, the owners and waitresses would save a table just for us, knowing our exact orders. At home, my grandma would ask me what dishes I wanted to eat, preparing a variety of foods paired along with a soup, which was usually lotus root and pork ribs soup.
When we would ride the bus back home, my grandparents loved testing me on my vision as well as my math skills. As we rode past the horse ranch just behind Walgreens, my grandparents would ask me how many horses were present, grazing on the grass that day. I would immediately perch on the windows, poking at the glass windows, while counting the number of horses on the two sides of the fence and adding them together. At times, there could be as many as ten horses, but at other times, there could be as few as three.
I realized that these simple moments with my grandparents seemed much like a norm, as they were part of my daily life, my daily routine. My grandparents are definitely some of the people I cherish the most, and although I can never turn back time to relive those precious memories, I will be sure to spend extra time with them and create more lasting memories with them.
Bettie, this is a wholesome Blog Post to end the school year with. You structure this post very well by introducing your main idea at the beginning, providing a series of anecdotes throughout the post, and concluding it by looking back. I also love the amount of specific details you bring in here―for instance, describing your younger self as a "small girl with a bob cut" creates a very unique image that we otherwise would not imagine without knowing you at that time. Another use of specific imagery I like is in your second-to-last paragraph, where you describe the experience of being tested on vision near the horse ranch; the description of you "[perching]" and "poking at the glass windows" effectively conveys how engaged you were in the activities your grandparents had you do. Overall, I'm glad that you had such positive memories with your grandparents, and I also hope you are able to continue creating memories with them despite growing older. Great job on this Blog Post!
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