It was just the three of us-my parents and me. My dad was a truck driver and was gone most of the time, so my mom was almost like a single mother.
We moved to a small house with a yard in Brighton on my third birthday. My first memory was our neighbor Arlene handing me strawberries from her garden. She and her husband, Bill, lived next door.
There weren't any kids of my age in the neighborhood, so I mostly played in the yard with my dogs. Arlene spent lots of time working in the garden, and I was always talking to her from our yard. She never got tired of listening to me talk. I think Arlene saw herself in me-we were both lonely kids-and that may be why she always took the time to listen to me. Bill too.
One day, my parents asked Bill and Arlene whether they'd watch me while they were out. This worked well for everyone, so it became a monthly event. They had a spare room in their house, which became "my" room.
Arlene and I would do crafts together. We made clothes for dolls. Bill taught me how to ride a bike and later how to drive a car. He was always fixing something in his garage. I would hang around to chat with him, and he would always stop and listen to me, just like Arlene did.
When I was about five, I had an idea. One day, I knocked on Bill and Arlene's door and said, "Will you be my grandparents?" They started crying and excitedly accepted. They had never thought of having the chance to be parents or even grandparents one day. Soon after, they printed out an adoption certificate and it hung on their living room wall from then on.
From the day I adopted them, I called Bill and Arlene Grandpa and Grandma. Over the years, Bill and Arlene supported me in all my dreams. They encouraged me to apply for college, even though I didn't have the money to go.
Arlene passed away in 2013. At the end of the funeral, I gave the eulogy, "The greatest joy of my ife, my grandmother, Arlene leaves behind her husband, Bill and her granddaughter, Katie. "
After the funeral, Bill gave me the ring he'd gifted to Arlene on their 25th wedding anniversary. It's a gold ring that I wear on my ring finger to help me remember the kind of love I wish to put into this world.
