A rock of strength and love, my grandmother left a lasting mark on my life. How she taught me, supported me, and told me stories made me the person I am today. But what she asked for last would make everything different.
As a child, I would be fascinated by her stories of good deeds and bad. She taught them important lessons while telling stories from her childhood, like the time she put frogs in her teacher’s desk. I will always remember the words she used to comfort me when I was a troubled teen.
When I introduced her to Ronaldo, my fiancé, she got him to make a holy promise. I had no idea how important that promise would be.
Her quick illness and death left a huge hole in my life. But before she died, she told me I would clean her gravestone picture exactly one year after she died.
On that occasion, I did what she asked and then found a note hidden under the picture. It took me to a prize in the woods, where I found a copper box with a letter inside that told me a shocking family secret: my mom was adopted.
It stuck in my mind what my grandmother had written with love and conviction: “Love isn’t in blood, but in choosing each other every day.” This new information changed how I thought about family, but it also made me value Grandma’s love even more.
My mom and I both felt Grandma’s presence as I told her about my finding, even though she was dead. She left me a legacy that taught me that love is a choice, not just a tie.
Grandma is still a part of my daily life. I think of her when I sing, bake cookies, or tell my kids stories. Her love has changed form, but its core stays the same, and it makes me want to choose love every day.
Grandma’s secret may have shaken me to my core, but it also made me more grateful for the values she taught me, like bravery, kindness, and the power of choice love. The fact that her memory still moves me shows how her love will live on.
