Grandma’s Golden Afternoons
Every Friday after school, little Lily would run through the front gate of her grandmother’s house, her tiny shoes slapping the stone path, her pigtails flying behind her. Grandma June would always be waiting on the porch with two steaming mugs — one of hot cocoa for Lily, and one of chamomile tea for herself.
They would curl up together on the big mustard-yellow sofa, a quilt over their laps, and talk about everything and nothing. Lily would share her week — how she’d learned to whistle, how her teacher read a story about a dragon, how she and her friends made a “secret club” under the slide.
Grandma June listened to every word as if it was the most important news in the world. “You know, Lily,” she would say with a twinkle in her eye, “the best stories are the ones you live yourself.”
One rainy afternoon, Lily asked, “Grandma, why do you always smile so much?”
Grandma June chuckled softly and brushed Lily’s hair back from her face. “Because every time I look at you, I remember that life is good. You’re my sunshine, even on cloudy days.”
That day, they spent hours looking through old photo albums. Lily giggled at pictures of her mom with funny hairstyles, of Grandpa wearing silly hats, and of Grandma holding baby Lily for the first time.
As the rain tapped gently against the window, Lily suddenly said, “When I grow up, I want to be just like you.”
Grandma’s eyes grew soft. She squeezed Lily’s little hand and said, “Then you’ll have a heart full of love and a home full of laughter — and that’s all anyone really needs.”
Years later, when Lily had children of her own, she kept the tradition alive. Every Friday afternoon, she would sit with her kids on the same mustard-yellow sofa, sipping cocoa and telling stories — and on the wall hung a framed picture of her and Grandma June laughing together.
Because some moments don’t just stay in the past — they become part of who we are.
And every time Lily looked at that picture, she smiled, just like Grandma used to, and whispered, “Life is good.”
