My grandma was home alone on her 83rd birthday, and I’ll never forget that day. Even though she planned a lovely lunch with homemade bread and sweets, no one from the family showed up. I felt terrible when I saw the sadness in her eyes.
My grandma, whom I call Gran-Gran, was always there for my family and kept us strong. When my parents split up, she took care of my brothers and me. She was so selfless it was amazing. Seeing her in pain and disappointment made me angry. I promised my family a lesson they would always remember.
The first thing I did was call my mum and say I was worried about Gran-Gran’s health. I told her that Gran-Gran had hurt herself and was in the hospital, and we had to pay for her very expensive care. Because she felt bad, my mom agreed to put in her share of the made-up $2,000 bill.
I did this again and again with my brother and other family members, telling them the same story about Gran-Gran’s hospital stay each time. All of them fell for it, and I quickly got a good amount of money.
But my plan wasn’t just to get back at them or get money. I wanted to teach my family a useful lesson about how important it is to be there for the people who mean the most.
As a treat, I gave Gran-Gran passes to a beautiful beach resort the next morning. She had always wanted to go there. The next week, we lazed around in the sun, laughed with each other, and made memories that will last a lifetime.
When we got back home, I posted pictures from our trip on social media. My family was shocked to find out that I had lied to them. They called and texted me to ask why they weren’t there on Gran-Gran’s birthday, but all I did was remind them.
After that day, my family never missed another event. They learnt a useful lesson about how important it is to be there for people and treat them with love and care. For some people, tough love and clever solutions are what it takes to bring them together and remind them of what’s important.
