PEOPLE STARE WHEN I WALK INTO THE PARK WITH 5 ELDERLY WOMEN—BUT THEY NEVER GUESS THE REAL REASON WHY
At first, people assumed I was some kind of caretaker. Or maybe a nurse.
Some smiled politely. Some just looked confused.
But no one ever asked.
The truth?
Only one of them is related to me.
The rest?
Well, it all started with a chess game…
“Only One of Them Is My Grandma — But I’d Fight for All of Them”
At first, people assumed I was some kind of caretaker. Or maybe a nurse.
Some smiled politely. Some just looked confused.
But no one ever asked.
The truth?
Only one of them is related to me. The rest?
Well, it all started with a chess game.
My grandmother, Ruth, moved into a retirement community three years ago after a fall. I visited her every Sunday without fail, usually with coffee and homemade banana bread.
One rainy afternoon, I noticed her playing chess with a woman named Jean. I asked if I could join, and soon, it became a weekly ritual—me, Grandma Ruth, Jean, and eventually a rotating crew of others: Linda, who used to be a jazz singer. Maria, a retired teacher with a sense of humor sharper than any teenager I know. And Ellie, who never missed a Sunday, rain or shine.
Somewhere between rook moves and old jazz stories, it happened: they became my people.
They started asking me to walk them to the nearby park. At first, I thought it would be a one-time thing. But the walks became weekly. Then daily during spring.
“Let’s bring sandwiches next time,” Jean suggested. So I did. Then cards. Then a Bluetooth speaker with old Sinatra tunes.
Now, every Saturday at 10:00 AM, I load up my old van, pick them all up, and we go to the park. I wheel the slower ones down the path. I carry Maria’s crossword puzzles. I make sure Ellie gets her favorite bench under the magnolia tree.
We talk. We laugh. We cry sometimes.
They’ve shared their regrets, their favorite poems, their advice on love. They remember my birthday. They knit me socks.
Last week, a young woman came up and said, “Excuse me… are you their grandson?”
I smiled.
“Only one of them. But I’d fight for all of them.”
So yeah, people stare.
But they don’t know the half of it.
