My Favorite Older Friend
Outstanding Achievement
Ashley Moorehouse
Northridge Christian School
Teacher: Miss Morgan
“My Grandma”
My Grandma’s smile lights up my world. When she smiles, I forget about all the bad things in life. But my Grandma’s smile isn’t the only thing that makes her so amazing. She is also a talented artist. When she paints, it looks like all of her feelings pour out onto the canvas. When I was younger, she used to let me paint with her watercolors. We used to take long walks along a quiet stream. While we walked, she would tell me stories about her childhood.
My grandma was born in Phoenix, Arizona. That is where I was born, too. My grandma is a mother of five children: four girls and one boy (my Dad). My grandma had a sister and two brothers. Her dad died when she was about ten. Because her Dad died, her mother went to work and when my grandma wasn’t in school, her brothers and sister had to do the cooking, cleaning and all the other chores that a mother would usually do. Because she had to become responsible at such a young age, she was a very good mother and took pride in keeping a very clean and organized house. In her free time, she likes to draw. As she got older, she got better and began using oil paints. We have many of her paintings in our home. Most of them are nature scenes.
Four years ago, my grandma was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Because of this disease, she is unable to paint, draw, play the piano, dress or feed herself.
When I visit my grandma and say “Hi”, I often wonder if she knows who I am or remembers my name. Before she developed this disease, she would take care of me and play with me, and she taught me how to paint. My grandma has lived a wonderful life, and when the time comes for her life on earth to end, I will be very sad but I will always treasure the memories we shared together.
