Grandma Ann
Did you ever have an experience that was so traumatizing you never thought you would get over it. I was young at the time, when things that happen to you feel like they are happening under a microscope. The whole world is watching you, of course that is never really the case.
My experience happened because of a woman I knew as Grandma Ann. She wasn’t my Grandma. She was a distant relative by marriage at best. What I didn’t know about Grandma Ann was that she was a hoarder. She went out weekly to retrieve trash from retail stores or garage sales. She stacked it in her house in the many piles that lined almost every room in her home. To each is own, I have no issue with that. Live as you live as long as you are happy.
The humiliation for me came when I went to return a duplicate wedding gift that we had received. Grandma Ann was an acquaintance of my husband’s family. She had given us a small appliance. I did not know much about her or her ideals. I decided to return her gift because the box was a bit beat up and it was a duplicate gift.
The embarrassment came when the clerk took the item out of the box. It was obviously used. It had never been cleaned and was covered in grease. I was beyond humiliated. I left out of that store so fast and I may have chosen never to return. It was a long, long time ago. It is something the family laughs about now. But for a young naive new bride, well it was quite the learning experience.
After that incident I heard all of the Grandma Ann stories. How she gave her grandsons one-armed barbie dolls for Christmas. Or books with pages missing. She obviously had a few screws loose.
My cautionary tale from this experience is humility. Slow down, ask questions, inspect things. Don’t rush into situations lest you come out the fool.
Fabulous, Fun, and Frustrating, People 
Leave a comment