WritingOnTheLine

The fall always reminds me of my maternal grandparents. They used to live in Oklahoma and every Thanksgiving I would make the trip to spend it with them. As they grew older and my grandmother’s health began failing, I talked my Grandpa into moving closer to me so I could help take care of them.

My grandmother loved playing the piano, reading, and filling out sweepstakes. I recall from a very young age, I would receive gifts from her in the mail that she had received from some sort of sweepstakes. Prizes, though not worth anything to shout about, she was happy to pass on as if they were greatly meaningful! She would often write on the package, “This looks like a good one! I don’t think they meant to give it away!” or, “I think this stone may be real, you’ll have to take it to a jeweler and see how much it’s worth! Don’t forget to share!” Still, every birthday or Christmas I anticipated the next sweepstake prize she’d give and I would treasure it.

Making the move from Oklahoma to Colorado to be closer to family did not change her sweepstakes habit, and as my grandparents grew older, it seemed like the amount of sweepstakes appearing in their mail grew as well. My grandpa would often try to convince my grandmother that the sweepstakes were junk, a rip-off and that they, ‘weren’t worth the stamp he put on them’. When my grandparents could no longer get to the post office, I began picking up and delivering their mail. On one occasion, I stopped in to check on them and my grandpa handed me the mail he needed to send off. My grandmother then, hurriedly went to fetch her mail that she wanted delivered as well. She handed me the small stack of what appeared to be all sweepstake-like, pre-addressed envelopes and asked that I mail them, while my grandpa stood behind her shaking his head and mouthing silently to me not to waste the stamps. When I left their home, I thumbed through her stack and confirmed they were all “junk mail”. One particular envelope though had my grandmother’s handwriting on the back of it, where she wrote the words, “Thank you, Sweetie!” and signed it with her signature. I could tell this must have been something that excited her! I opened it and read that she was the “GRAND PRIZE WINNER OF $20,000” (all she had to do was send in $20 and fill out a few magazine subscriptions to claim her prize). I then saw a message in her distinctive handwriting that read, “Please take the $20 out of my winnings! Husband = Cheapskate!”