When I was a child, my grandparents had a cottage at Grand Beach just north of Winnipeg. We used to go back to Winnipeg every summer from the time I was 3 until I was 16, and a large part of that time was spent at the cottage.
In those days there were no bathrooms in the cottages, and only a few had running water for the kitchens. There were communal washrooms at the corner of the streets, and these had sinks, toilets, and showers. As a young child, this was no big deal, but as I grew up and became a teenager, it certainly became an issue for me. Not having a place to primp was like the end of the world!!!!
The summer I was 14 we travelled to Winnipeg as usual, and while I was excited to go to the beach, I didn't like not having a bathroom. Imagine my surprise when we got to the cottage, and my grandfather took me out back and presented me with my own bathroom that he rigged up in his shed!!! It had a toilet, sink and mirror, and it must have taken so much work for him to clear It out and install all the plumbing. I was so touched and excited!
That night I strutted out to MY bathroom to wash up before bed. I had just finished washing my face, and was brushing my teeth when out of the corner of my eye I saw a huge spider drop down just to the left of me!!!! Spiders are the only thing on this earth that make me freak like a girly-girl, and I barely held it together as I slowly started to back out of the shed. As I did I happened to look up, and saw a whole bunch of big ugly spiders on the ceiling, and one dropping right toward my head!!!!! I almost shit myself I was so scared, and booked it out of there screaming like a banshee!!
Needless to say, given my spider phobia, I never went back in that shed again. I felt so bad because I know how much work my grandfather did to set that all up for me, and the guilt I felt lingered for years. But he never got mad, never said a thing, though I know he never understood my phobia. I was lucky enough to have him in my life for another 25 years, and will never forget what he did for me that summer. I can only hope to be half the grandparent that he was.
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