My Grandma

Ava Garrison

January 3, 2019

A person that greatly influences my life and inspires me is my grandmother, Carol Buick. My grandmother is someone that impacts me by her actions, community dedication, and kindness. Every time I see my grandmother she is radiating with positivity and always wears a smile. When I was a little girl, my grandmother allowed me to explore and dream. If I told her I wanted to go to the moon she would pull up a chair and say, “Get into your spaceship. It takes off in 20 seconds!”  My grandmother is very encouraging and helps me with everything whether, small or large. She has supported my love of writing and we share a mutual admiration for poetry.

My grandmother has taught me to start my day with meditation and I have recently followed in her footsteps with writing morning pages. Throughout my day, my grandmother inspires me to try my best at everything and her work reminds me that I can accomplish anything.

In addition to being positive and inspirational, my grandmother is incredibly involved in her community. She lives in Glenwood Springs and has been a nurse for more than 40 years. She spends her life volunteering endlessly. One of her recent activities included teaching middle schoolers to knit at Glenwood Springs Middle School. When Glenwood’s main bridge was under construction she walked many children safely to their schools and called it the “walking school bus.” She started a knitting group named “Threads of Love” at Valley View Hospital where anyone can learn how to knit a prayer shawl. All shawls are given to a patient at the hospital to comfort them. My grandmother is involved in Literacy Outreach where she meets weekly with a Spanish speaking woman. They sit and talk while learning the language of English together.  Her Positive Energy Group and working at a nonprofit shop where physical and mentally challenged people come and weave are added into her busy schedule.

Just the other day I was asking my grandmother what her New Year’s resolutions were. Although she is already so involved with her community, she told me that she wanted to reach out and help society more.

My grandmother’s persistence inspires everyone she meets and I am working on being as involved in my world as she continues to be. I am very grateful that I have this person to look up to and aspire to be like. It is a gift to be able to see someone so dedicated and involved and I hope that someday I will be able to follow in her footsteps and have to opportunities to change so many people’s lives.