I have a picture on my wall. It's stuck up there between a newspaper clipping and a picture my sister drew for me. It's an old photo; I wish I had taken better care of it. The edges are bent and torn and there's a stain in the lower left corner. It's an old black and white picture of my grandmother. She stands there smiling in her open toed heels and a dress that could have been very colorful, but it is only black and white to me. She's smiling at the camera. Who took the picture? Her parents, a friend, my grandfather? I don't know. I just wish I'd taken better care of that photo.



I like to show it around. Prove to my friends that my grandmother was beautiful, and she still is to me. I would like to show that photo to my children and grandchildren, tell them stories about the smiling girl. Tell them about the songs she would sing to me and my sister; maybe even sing them a line or two. I'd tell them not to touch the picture because it's old and frail. I do wish I'd taken better care of that picture. I wish I'd taken better care of her.