Naleighna Kai's Literary Cafe Magazine NK Literary Cafe 2018 Mother's Day Issue | Page 32

The Grandmother Experience
Sara Lunsford
My paternal grandmother dropped out of school after
8th grade to help care for her family. By the age of
60, she was legally blind from macular degeneration.
She taught herself braille, got her GED at 82, and
became a literacy advocate. She volunteered in all the
local schools as a “room grandmother” and helped
kids learn to read. She provided a safe place for them
and gave them the grandparent experience that I’ve
known from her all my life.
She had twenty grandchildren and nearly thirty great
grandchildren. I was the youngest grandchild. For
Christmas and birthdays, she tried to give us all the
same thing. So we received $5. And considering how
many of us there were ... that was pure magic.
If we went to visit, she’d let us have the money from
recycling the cans. Always loving. Always fair.
When she heard I wanted to be a writer, she bought
my first typewriter. At that time, they were pretty
expensive. I didn’t understand how that gift would
impact me until I was an adult. Not really. Or what it
meant that she saved her pennies to buy it for me.
She taught me so much. But tthese are the things I
remember most. I’m a published writer now, and I
don’t think I would be without her or my mother.
Sara Lunsford wrote her first short story after watching The Exorcist at
her 8th birthday party. She’s gone on to write over fifty titles under various
pen names. Her domestic thriller titled Tooth and Nail is on sale for .99
until June 1. Check it out here: www.books2read.com/ToothandNail
Website: www.saralunsfordbooks.com.
32 | NKLC Magazine