Dear Diary

Dear diary,

I’m Gracelynn! My Nana’s cottage has always been a hideaway for me, a safe place. It could be the ivory colored, plush carpet and floral wallpapered walls that made it so homey. Well…. personally, I think it’s the people who live in the house that make it so special. If you were to ask me who my favorite person is, I would have to say Nana! The special bond we share allowed me to talk to her about anything! It’s something that I will always cherish. Although, I wish I would have known my Papa, or at least heard stories about him. I find it odd that every time I ask Nana about him she dodges the question, but I have never given it much thought. The reason why I bring all this up is because my Nana passed away yesterday; Two days before my Fourteenth Birthday. When I heard the news I instantly felt broken inside like the world had just lost someone that was not meant to go yet. I could feel the hot tears viciously streaming down my long, sleek face. I decided it would be a good idea to start a diary to comfort me and help me to later remember this unfortunate experience. Well, I have to go—my Mom, Lindsay, just knocked on my door and said “I know this is going to be hard for you but… tomorrow we have to go to Nana’s house and go through her belongings.” I knew it was coming but I did not want to accept it. I will update you tomorrow.

Good morning diary,

I’m in the car, on the way to Nana’s house. It’s only a five-minute drive from my house but it feels a lot longer than that today…… we’re here. I just walked in the door as I’m writing this. The emotions have completely taken me over. Everywhere I look reminds me of memories, which is heartwarming but also makes my grief deeper… knowing that I will never be able to make more memories with her. It’s obvious that a few of my family members already began rummaging through Nana’s items because the place looks trashed. Nana wouldn’t have liked her house looking like this, being the neat lady she was. I decided that I’ll walk around for a few minutes, to take it all in. I just looked through some of Nana’s jewelry but now I’m going to look at her clothes; she had superb fashion sense! Ouch!! My long blonde hair just got stuck on an open box! Huh… that’s odd, just as I was untangling my hair from the box a pocket-sized soft, black moleskin book fell from another box… right into my hand! It’s almost as if that’s a sign from Nana to read it?! I’m going to bring this pocketbook home and I’ll update you tomorrow.

Hi, again diary,

I started reading the little moleskin book today and you’ll never guess what I discovered… this was my Nana’s diary, she started writing in it over fifty years ago AND she even glued a picture of her and Mom in it! We have more in common than I thought! I read a few pages, just to admire her stunning old-fashion writing (and because it comforting to feel close to her again.) I admired her as a Nana, and writer (which is one of the reasons why I started this diary as well). I’m going to read more tonight and I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow after school!

Good afternoon,

I’ll admit it… I stayed up way too late last night reading all of Nana’s diary entries! Every chance I get, I read more and more!! Yesterday I read something really surprising; I’ll put a copy of the entry from my Nana here:

Wednesday, January 13th, 1965

My husband, Eugene, isn’t doing well; he’s come down with typhoid fever. He and I have only been married for one year, we have a three-month-old daughter Lindsay together. I am frightened for the future. Lindsay and I still need him. I say a prayer daily for my Eugene to get better… but it doesn’t seem to help. Xx –Mae

Saturday, July 10th, 1965

I haven’t written in this journal in a long while, I thought it was best for me while I was dealing with grief. I was wrong… now I know that writing comforts me – helps me to cope with the loss of my Husband. Eugene left Lindsay and I with twenty thousand dollars, from his life insurance. I have decided it would be smart to save one dollar every day for Lindsay’s future. I made a promise to myself to be smart, and put my family first… always.

Xx –Mae

Welcome back to modern times diary,

It’s me, Gracelynn, again! I told my Mom about what Nana wrote. I was fascinated with learning more about my Papa, Eugene, but my Mom seemed to be more interested when Nana said she saved one dollar a day for her future. My Mom explained to me that Nana never passed on the money she said she was going to. I was really shocked and confused why Nana wouldn’t stick to her promise until I read this…...

Saturday, February 27th, 1966

For this last year, I have been pondering how to save money for Lindsay; that will keep it safe until she’s ready for it. I couldn’t afford to live in our former house, so with part of the twenty thousand dollars, I bought a small cottage that Lindsay will have a happy childhood in. Now that we have our things put away, I found the perfect spot to keep the rest of the savings! Xx –Mae

I knew Nana would keep her promise! Once I read this to Mom she was relieved that Nana was writing about the savings in her diary; since we can’t ask her ourselves. Then Mom said “Keep reading to see if she mentions any other details, and we can go to Nana’s house tonight to look.” So, I continued searching… and searching… and searching! I wasn’t finding a single clue! I was starting to get frustrated until I realized… it had been under my nose the whole time! One the last page, there is a photo (the only one in the whole notebook) of Nana and Mom (as a baby) in their cottage. I realized there might be some special meaning behind it because it’s the only photo Nana put in the black moleskin book. With this in mind, I asked my Mom to drive me to Nana’s house so I could investigate the area where the photo was taken. When I got there I realized that exact spot was where I found the moleskin book! Only, the entire area was covered in boxes and mess. As I was trying to shove my Nana’s dusty possessions out of the way; still searching for any trace of the money I heard Nana in my head, almost as if she was sending help from heaven- “Oh, how dearly I love my floral wallpaper!” Then it came to me… the money is in the walls! I explained to my Mom that she should make a small hole in the wall so I could investigate. She was very hesitant at first, but I gave my reasoning and evidence as to why it was so important. Thankfully, she agreed. Minutes later, I was holding twenty thousand dollars in my hands. I’ve never held that much money before; it was exhilarating! What felt like seconds after I found fifty years’ worth of saved up money, (knowing that it’s still possible to communicate with her) I thanked her in my head. Not only for saving the money, and helping Mom and I find it... but also for all the sweet memories we created together and for being the person I looked up to, and still do, forevermore. Along with the twenty thousand dollars, I found this heartfelt letter written only months before Nana passed:

My dear Gracelynn and Lindsay,

I have saved this money for you two for the last fifty-five years. My hope is by the time this note finds you, you will have already read my little black notebook. Although it may appear that the money I’m leaving you is the prize… I hope you always remember that the real prize; the top priority is family. This is only a small token of my appreciation and love to the two of you. Lindsay, thank you for always being my special daughter; your father would be so proud of you- as am I. Gracelynn, never stop perusing your dreams. You can and will do anything you put your mind to, whether that be writing or becoming a pianist… this money is meant to assist you in your future endeavors. To the both of you, thank you for being the light in my universe.

Much love forever and always,

Mom & Nana