Day 7 - Send one of your grandparents a photograph.

I've always thought that grandparents we're put on this earth to smother you with love, spoil you and of course give you everything your parents say no too. To love you when you're down, bake for you and give you extra special kisses.
Growing up I only had grandparents from my father's side of the family, my mom's parents had passed away before I was born. Due to that significant factor, I never really had grandparents that adored me growing up. They came from a country where "tough love" was the way things went. My grandfather who I was closer to passed away from cancer when I was around 8 years old, I remember him just like it was yesterday, he was always loving and I remember him mostly with a smile on his face. I was never really close to my grandmother, she favored my brother and she wouldn't deny it until this day. I never had many good memories with her so the older I got the less I visited.

Currently, I only see her on special holidays when she's over my father's house or for special dinner's. I've noticed now that I am older, she wants my love and wants me to visit her but I'm embarrassed to say I never make the time; something always comes up and/or something is always more important. Come to think of it, every time I have seen her she always asks me for pictures because she doesn't have any recent ones of me, so when I read the deed of the day "send one of your grandparents a photograph" it made me regret all of the time I hadn't spent with her. It's crazy to me how something so small such as sending my grandmother a picture of me could make her whole day; I can picture her smiling from ear to ear when she opens the envelope.

I decided to send her two pictures, one of when I was a little girl, you can barely see my face but the main thing in the picture are the curls in my hair. Something I didn't know growing up that my mom told me recently was that when I was little my grandmother used to curl my hair with her fingers, such as the way it is in this picture. Although you can't see my face, you can see my precious curls and little grin and that is a memory I will always hold fond to my heart. The second picture I sent her was a recent picture of myself now with curls in my hair. I also sent her a small letter, that went something along the lines of.. "Nana, I'm sorry that I don't spend as much time as I would like too with you, but I want you to know that I love you very much. Although I cannot make up for lost time, I would love to see you soon to hear all of your stories and share a few laughs. I know I don't say it much but I love you, always have and always will, your mamiña".

This deed made me realize that time is precious and although someone is not how you would like them to be, maybe it's not their fault, maybe it was the way they we're raised. And also that the greatest treasures are those invisible to the eye but felt by the heart. After today I will make it a point to go visit my grandmother even if it's just for an hour because an hour could make her entire day perfect. I encourage all of you that read this entry to spend time with your loved ones before it's too late, don't hold grudges; let them go, forgive and give love. Don't make excuses, if there's distance between you and your grandparents, send them a letter and a picture which is guaranteed to make their day and maybe even the rest of their life!