Grandma

Dear Stranger,

It feels good writing to you. Even though I don't know who "you" is, it's reasuring knowing I don't have to pretend right now. I don't have to get you to like me or even hold a conversation with you because to be honest I am NOT very good at either of those things. Another thing I'm not good at is spelling, so please give me a break. :) My favorite color is yellow, I get happiness from seeing other happy; whether I provide that happiness or not, I love going to the dentist (I went today as a matter of fact), grow up scares me, and one of my favorite people in the entire world is my grandma. That's where my story starts today, so lets get started. Shall we? My grandma and I were sitting in the walmart parking lot waiting for my grandpa to get back. A woman and a man walked up to their car next to us (my grandma had her window 1/4 the way down because she was smoking) therefore we could hear every word that plundered through her lips. She was talking about her med-terms (so she was obviously going into something medical related) and as she got settled into the car she looked right at my grandmother and hissed "You see that woman smoking I bet the lady in the back can't even breathe." The man replied "They can hear you." So she snaps back. "I don't care! That's rude." As they drove away she just shook her head. It was silent in our vehicle and I knew my grandma heard her. My heart hurt so much after she said that. I thought it would just bleed out right there & that's the whole story...

I lied, no it isn't. That's only half of it. What really got me going about that woman is that she doesn't know my grandma & at her age (middle aged) she should learn to keep her mouth quiet. Right? She doesn't know my grandma has stomach cancer. She doesn't know they are trying their best for her, but it will kill her in the end. She doesn't know that it's a struggle for us everyday & when I wake up in the morning I don't know what mood my grandma will be in that day. That woman doesn't know how good of a person my grandmother is. That one woman doesn't know anything about us and our lives. That's the thing about all of us. We never know what other people are going through and you don't know 1/2 of what I go through, and this brings light to that statement. I'm no perfect citizen. I've said mean things before, but this will make me think before I ramble about others (strangers). I hope you feel the same too. If I didn't teach you anything I'm sorry for wasting precious time, but next time you open your mouth to say anything mean about a stranger remember; it could be me. You never know.

Love,
Me

P.S. - I tell her to quit everyday. Someday... she will.

Note from Katie: Every i in this letter is dotted with a heart.