Event

For this exercise, think about an event you attended with your granddaughter. Was it a movie? A performance? Even lunch? Actually, let this 'event' be extended to moments you spent in the house together. Walks around the neighborhood. Bring to mind this moment, this event, and talk to your granddaughter about it. Does she remember it? Take a few minutes to write down how you experienced it. Have her do the same. How do these experiences compare? What did you get out of it that she may not have? What did she value in this memory that you had forgotten? Have you spent enough time pausing to reflect on moments like this with her?

Try it again, maybe a couple times. You don't just have to think about the 'best' time you've spent together. Maybe challenge each other. Call to mind a really difficult moment. A fight even. How do the two of you recall this event, separately? Can you read each others responses and begin to talk about it?

Hang what you wrote on the wall, side by side. This doesn't have to be a permanent installation, but rather to give this moment your shared some validity. By putting it on the wall, even for an hour or so, you're acknowledging the importance of your time together.

*SUBMIT a story or a movie review to ehepner@andrew.cmu.edu*