The Little Old Lady😁

An encounter

with an elder

that taught me something:

We have a lot of elders on our reservation, and my cousin, Destiny, and I were walking home after school because we missed the bus; it was a beautiful, sunny day out. We watched the canoes pull out in the water; the sun was reflecting off of the water, the canoes were going out, and we watched the canoes until we couldn’t see them anymore.

Then we started walking home we got to Little Bear Rest Home and saw a little old lady carrying a whole bunch of bags, so we decided to help her. We grabbed her bags as we walked up the hill, and she started talking to us. She said she had caught the city bus home, and that nobody would help her with her bags beforehand. We started talking to her, and she asked my cousin and I who are parents are. First, Destiny answered and the little lady said she knew who Destiny’s parents and grandparents were. Which then spurred the old lady to tell a couple stories about Destiny’s relatives.

Then the old lady turned me, and in her scratchy little voice asked, “And who are your parents and grandparents?”

I explained who my parents were, she seemed like she didn’t know them. But then I went on, and said in a respectful tone that my grandparents are Jim and Sharon Scott. She then questioned me, “Sharon Revey?”

“Yeah, that’s her maiden name.”

Then she went on and on, more excitedly now, about my Auntie Karen and Sharon, because they’re twin sisters. The old lady also told me about my great-grandma and grandpa, Arlene and Manuel, whom I have never met or heard about before in my life. She continue to explain how caring and sweet my great-grandparents were for other people. She also talked about how they were very good people, with a large smile on her wrinkled face, because both of my great-grandparents knew how to fish and cook, and seemed like she knew they could probably overcome any kind challenge . Then, since it was 4:30 or 5:00nin late dusky evening, I called my grandma. And I could hear my grandma’s scared voice starting to getting mad because I hadn’t been home when I was suppose to be, so we quickly finished giving the little old lady help. The old lady thanked us and told us in her small voice, filled to the brim with long and heavy breaths, “What you do for people will come back to you when you’re in need of help”.

And that was the last time I saw that little old lady. But that was okay, I got to know so much more about my great-grandparents, and that made my heart so happy I could just cry! The little old lady had filled my heart with such joyfulness, and I had filled hers with the same by helping and respecting my elders. We were taught to always help our elders when they’re in need, and I am so glad that I did!