Have you ever experienced a moment where you have permanently changed someone’s life? It was the week before Christmas, and I sat around the kitchen table baking Christmas cookies with my 12 year old sister and my grandmother. This cookie recipe was passed on to my family from generations ago. It’s an Egyptian cookie that is hand designed and after baked, is dusted with sugar. Sitting there, I cherished that moment, wondering if more of these would come, if maybe, my grandmother would change her ways.
My grandmother was a heavy chain smoker. My family and I worried about her, especially my sister and I. Every cough and cold worried me even more, as I wondered if it was fatal or life threatening. I remember right after baking those cookies, my grandmother went outside to smoke a fourth time that day.
After her smoke, she came inside and took a nap as my sister and I were cleaning up the kitchen. As she was sleeping, I saw my sister sneak into her bag. I was wondering if my sister saw me there and what exactly was she doing in my grandmother’s bag? She pulled out a pack of cigarettes; this scared me because I didn’t know what she was planning on doing with it. I peered in closer into the room she was in to get a better view. On the pack of cigarettes, she pasted a picture of her and me. On the picture, my sister and I were blissfully smiling.When my grandmother woke up, I saw her reach into her bag to have another smoke, and she hesitated. She took the picture off the box, put in her bag, and then threw away the pack.
After that day we noticed that she started smoking less and less until she finally stopped. Now when ever I bake cookies and dust sugar on top, I think of the day when my sister and I changed my grandmother. It brings back a sweet memory, of how if you really care, you can persuade a person to change their ways. Who knows what kind of condition she would be in today if she continued smoking. The thought of loosing my grandmother to smoking was something I couldn’t fathom.