Certain people who show up and believe in you — even before you believe in yourself — end up shaping the entire trajectory of your life. Your grandma didn't just tolerate the mess, she saw the writer underneath it, and that's such a rare gift.
No paper was wasted seeing how you write so beautifully now.
Grandma seems like she was your first love and nurturer like that little lamp that shines just for you. I love how you took us on the journey from you and her in the RV and showed us how stark the difference was when you were at home.
To let you be you, and for you to parent in that way your grandma loved you. A grandma love is the most tender love you can receive. They don't have to set rules, provide on the day to day. They have space and time to just love you as you are.
I always think that grandparents see their own children in their grandkids. Like they get a do over in some ways to love in a way they didn't have the capacity to before.
Herman, I really appreciate you always taking the time to read my pieces.
I think that is exactly what I am starting to understand. My grandma gave me confidence before I even knew I needed it. She made writing feel like something worth doing, even when I was just a kid scribbling on paper.
And now, with my boys, I hope I can do the same thing in my own way. I want to cheer them on as they build whatever they want to build.
I agree with you about reading too. Reading and writing give children a way to understand the world, but also a way to understand themselves.
There is something powerful about realizing someone kept proof of who we were before we even understood ourselves.
Those little poems and drawings may have looked messy to everyone else, but to her they were worth saving. That says everything. I think that is what I am still trying to understand about my grandmother too. She saw something in me before I knew how to name it.
Thank you for reading this and sharing that with me Sam.
Grandma did not see wasted paper.
She heard a voice.
Were you encouraged to be creative growing up, or did you have to protect that part of yourself?
Certain people who show up and believe in you — even before you believe in yourself — end up shaping the entire trajectory of your life. Your grandma didn't just tolerate the mess, she saw the writer underneath it, and that's such a rare gift.
Thank you, Ricky. “She saw the writer underneath it” is such a beautiful way to put it. My grandma had a way of seeing things before I could see them.
No paper was wasted seeing how you write so beautifully now.
Grandma seems like she was your first love and nurturer like that little lamp that shines just for you. I love how you took us on the journey from you and her in the RV and showed us how stark the difference was when you were at home.
To let you be you, and for you to parent in that way your grandma loved you. A grandma love is the most tender love you can receive. They don't have to set rules, provide on the day to day. They have space and time to just love you as you are.
I always think that grandparents see their own children in their grandkids. Like they get a do over in some ways to love in a way they didn't have the capacity to before.
As always. Beautiful.
I love Grandma!!!!
Grandma was your first muse
Wow that is a beautiful way to put it. Thank you. I will write this down.
Grandma was right! Never stop writing. ❤️
I love the way you write. She was right. Never stop writing.
Another beautifully written story Destin. We all have paths to what made us who we are today.
Your grandma was the one who encouraged your skill, gave you confidence & you ran with it. And now you can be that role model for your children.
Reading is as critical to writing in child development. I read endlessly to my only son.
Both reading & writing develop critical thinking skills to expression. Those are what give children the tools of expression
Herman, I really appreciate you always taking the time to read my pieces.
I think that is exactly what I am starting to understand. My grandma gave me confidence before I even knew I needed it. She made writing feel like something worth doing, even when I was just a kid scribbling on paper.
And now, with my boys, I hope I can do the same thing in my own way. I want to cheer them on as they build whatever they want to build.
I agree with you about reading too. Reading and writing give children a way to understand the world, but also a way to understand themselves.
Never stop writing.
Your grandmother played the role of my mother in my life.
It still rocks my world, the adult memory I have of her pulling out my Mother’s Day poems.
Written when I was 5 or 6.
Several pages of messily cut paper poems and drawings stapled together like a book, small enough that you could almost close your fists around it.
I was in my 30’s. She’d held onto it for all these years.
She saw and encouraged me in ways, I’ve still yet to fully understand.
Thanks for sharing Destin.
There is something powerful about realizing someone kept proof of who we were before we even understood ourselves.
Those little poems and drawings may have looked messy to everyone else, but to her they were worth saving. That says everything. I think that is what I am still trying to understand about my grandmother too. She saw something in me before I knew how to name it.
Thank you for reading this and sharing that with me Sam.