With Love, Grandma.

It had been a decade since Grandma Nettie had passed. It had also been a decade since I'd been home. I'd went off to college in New York a week before grandma had passed, and after her funeral, I haven't been back home since, until now. It was just too painful to come home, only to be reminded that the only known family I have, and the only person I've ever truly loved was gone. Grandma would always say that she could see ambition in me, ever since I was a kid.

I had to be the best at everything, from first place winner at every spelling bee, to principal's honor roll, from grade school throughout high school. I was voted as most likely to succeed, and I was also valedictorian. All I ever wanted to do was make my grandma proud, and some day, take care of her, like she had always taken care of me. My grandma was a strong woman. She lost my mom and my granddad in the same year.

My mom died after she gave birth to me, and my granddad died a few months prior. My dad died three months after I was born, in car crash, so grandma was truly, the only person I had, and I was always her protector, which is why it has taken me so long to come back home. I felt as if I had abandoned her. I've been battling guilt all this time, and the only thing that's making me confront my demons, is the same reason that I moved away. Isn't that ironic?

Mr. Jenkins our next door neighbor had kept up the lawn for me, since grandma's passing. We occasionally kept in touch via phone calls or he and his wife would send me cards during the holidays. He was excited to see that I'd returned home, and that I was staying. I told him that after I got situated inside, I'd come over for dinner. He told me that Jenna was coming home for the holidays as well, and she'd also be joining us for dinner tonight.

Jenna was the Jenkins' only child, and my childhood friend. She was the girl next door. Growing up we'd always talk, hang out, and do cool things together. She was the American sweetheart, and I was the nerd. A cool and attractive one, I think, but nevertheless, a nerd, and none of the girls wanted a nerd back then. They wanted the "bad boy" types.

It's funny because the same girls are flooding my DM's now, and well, let's just say, they're not my type. Okay, let's be serious, I don't have a type, I just don't have time. Work is everything to me. It's all I know. It's all I have.

I stood outside, at the bottom of the stairs, with a suitcase in each hand. The house looked exactly the same. I smiled, thinking about how grandma used to sit on the porch early in the morning, drinking her coffee, and talking to everyone who walked by. She was a people's person. I walked up the steps and to the front door.

I put the key in to unlock the door, but it got jammed a couple of times. After trying a third time, I finally got in. The sheets were still over the furniture, exactly how I'd put them ten years ago. There was no place like home, but it needed some deep cleaning. Spider webs and dust were everywhere.

I started cleaning, dusting and wiping down furniture. Sweeping and mopping and taking off the furniture coverings. Grandma's room was the last room I cleaned. In her closet was a chest. The chest was full of photo albums, and other things grandma held near and dear to her heart.

At the bottom of the chest was an envelope. The front of it was addressed to me. The back of the envelope read, "With Love, Grandma." I opened the envelope and took out the letter, then I began to read it.

Saturday, September 3, 2011.

Dear John,

I am so proud of you, grandson. I've always known that you would achieve much success in life. You've always been so focused and driven, and you don't allow anything to stand in the way of your dreams. You're so much like your mother. She followed her dreams, no matter what, and although her life was cut short, she LIVED, every day, not regretting a thing. I don't want you to worry about me. I will be okay. I'd hoped to personally give you this gift before you left for college, but I bought it online, and it didn't arrive until two days after you'd left. Anyway, how was your first week at school? Are you enjoying the college life? Are you enjoying the big city? I'm smiling, because I know you are. Listen, I don't want you to be upset with me, but I feel God calling me home. I haven't been completely honest with you about my health, because I knew you would have never left. I couldn't tell you the truth because you've always had big dreams, and I can't stand in the way of that. The doctors have done all they could do the past two years, but the cancer is aggressive. I've made peace with it, and I want you to do the same. Although there's no doubt in my mind that you will be successful, I don't want you to miss out on the beauty of life, and love. It's okay to work hard, but don't forget to LIVE. Enjoy each moment. Make room for a special someone to come into your life. Someone that you can share happiness and the rest of your life with, and take this key. It goes to a safety deposit box. There's something very special inside, just for you. These items have been in our family for seven generations. We've lost some of the items as well as family, but our legacy will last forever. These family treasures have been a blessing to each generation, and today, I am passing them along to you. Hopefully, someday you can pass them to your children. *Smiles* The items are small in size, but they are a reminder of how precious life is, and how rare it is to be blessed in a way that travels generation to generation, taking care of one another, all in the spirit of love. Well, I have to go. Goodbye for now, and remember, make time for love. Without love, you miss the meaning of life, and your legacy dies with you. With love, you build a solid foundation that your family can stand on for generations to come.

With love,

Grandma.

I took the key out of the envelope, and the next day, I went to the bank. When I opened the safety deposit box there was a little black book inside. I opened it up, and the book began to tell how the treasures inside have carried our family throughout generations. The middle of the little black book had a tiny black bag laying inside that had twenty red diamonds inside. I couldn't believe it.

Shortly after, I created John's Research Group, a research hospital that treats and cures even the most aggressive cancers in senior patients. My grandma was the inspiration behind it. The diamonds are still here, and will be for generations to come, but for now, it's my time to write my part of history in this little black book that consists of my family's legacy.