She takes my hand and leads me. In my day, it would have been the other way round. It is strange to be guided by your granddaughter, but the world has become strange. All the old certainties are vanishing. Like spring being the return of life, and autumn for the gathering-in. Now these seasons come with flood and fire. Nothing is as it was.
“We will have to show you what to do,” she says. “You should have done it, but you didn’t. Tomorrow is too late.”
.
Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here
Grandmothers & granddaughters bond is special.
That is life.
Lovely story.
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Thanks so much, Anita
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Yes. Tomorrow is too late.
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Thanks, Reena
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Dear Neil,
Sweet story. I can count on you to grab a prompt where there is no prompt. Sorry for the snafu this morning. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks so much, Rochelle. I hadn’t even realised there was no prompt. I just went with what I saw
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It worked for me. 😉
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Superbly written….yes…when spring and autumn meant something…
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Thanks so much, Ain
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Superbly written….yes…when spring and autumn meant something….
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So touching. Role reversal. Time weighs upon all. 🙂
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Thanks so much, Terveen
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You’ve turned those lovely photos into a proverb, Neil. What we should have done, but didn’t do, will turn things upside down. Excellent.
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Thanks so much, Linda
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Neil,
“You should have done it, but you didn’t.” The next generation always pays for the mistakes of the one before it, doesn’t it?
pax,
dora
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Every time
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A touching tale indeed.
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Thanks so much, Keith
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The closing of the story is especially poignant, fraught with both foreboding, perhaps slight chastisement, but also a tenderness, of hope. A very interesting idea here Neil, I like how you’ve penned this. 🙂
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Thanks so much
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I can’t wait until my grandkids are able to explain the world to me…
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You may not understand, of course
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I doubt I will!
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I like the way you told this story of climate change, and the role reversal of old and young. We mustn’t fail our children and our children’s children.
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We already have. But the good thing is they’re not putting up with it
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I’m glad they are there for each other through it all.
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We all need someone to take our hands
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❤
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Beautiful Neil.
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Thanks so much, Susan
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What everyone else said. Beautiful and poignant.
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Thanks so much
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I read this as the onset of old age and dementia, grand daughter guiding grandmother through the world and the blurring of the seasons by climate change, Christ we’re in a mess!
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More indolence than dementia, but I can see that’s a possible reading
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what can you say? such is life. 🙂
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It’s life. But not as we have known it
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Grandparents have a tremendous amount of knowledge that we can absorb which is priceless.
Although it isn’t the prompt photo, you did an excpetional write about the benefits of family history.
Nicely done, Neil, as always. Stay Safe 😷
Isadora 😎
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Thanks so much, Isadora. The trouble is, these days, the grandkids know stuff the grandparents don’t. When I wrote this story, Rochelle had forgotten to post the prompt and I thought her pictures were the prompt
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LOL aaahhhh … the purple princess is showing her age. Well …. grandkids might know things about computers and media but do they know about the insights of life. Grandparents have masters degrees. 👍🏻😻😎
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A special bond between grandmother and granddaughter. Well done.
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Thanks so much
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Awwww that is lovely but hides a darker truth. The young taking over from the old to deal with current crisis. Well done.
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I’m glad you focussed on the inversion. Thanks, Laurie
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The cycle continues. We were all the grandchild once. If we’re lucky we live to be the grandparent — screw-ups and all.
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But perhaps this is the first generation where the grandchildren have to lead the grandparents
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Age does bring on a reversal of roles.
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Perhaps more acutely these days
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Excellent, Neil. Made me hungry for details and more.
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Thanks so much, Bill
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i can relate to this as the world seems to be consumed by progress, yet they blame the old.
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Well, they have a point
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A well told story Neil, ‘We’ll have to show you what to do’ phrase seems to be at the heart of the story, not sure why.
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Thanks so much. Yes, that is absolutely the point of the story
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Such a quick and powerful story. There’s so much unsaid in this. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks so much, Anne
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