Attic Memories
For many reasons, Andrés loved fall. Mostly, he enjoyed being able to play outside in the cooler weather. Even though today was a cool Saturday in the fall, it was rainy. There would be no outdoor play today. The weather person on TV told viewers to expect the rain to last all day. For Andrés, that meant a day of misery. There was nothing to do! Although he knew better, Andrés whined, I m bored, to his mom. There s nothing to do, he complained. Mom responded with her usual, There are plenty of chores that need to be done. Andrés flopped on the couch and pressed a button on the remote to change the TV channel. He settled in to watch a sitcom. When it was over, he watched another. After the third show ended, Andrés couldn t bear to watch another. He wandered the house to locate his mother.
When he found her, Andrés stunned himself and his mother as well when he asked, What chore can I do? Mom explained that she was headed up into the attic to bring down a few decorations for fall. She told Andrés to come along. She could use his help bringing boxes down and putting up the decorations. Until today, Andrés had never been in the attic. He hadn t been allowed. Mom always said it was too dangerous up there. Now, Mom said Andrés was older and more careful. Andrés climbed up the ladder. He carefully stepped out onto the floor. He surveyed the attic. Andrés watched as Mom pulled the string that hung from the door to the attic. Down came a folded up ladder. Mom unfolded it and climbed up. She disappeared into the attic and called for Andrés to follow.
There were boxes everywhere! It looked like a huge mess. Then, his eyes landed on some of his old toys. He went to examine them. Andrés picked up a toy train. This was my favorite toy when I was five, he remembered fondly. Yes, it was, affirmed Mom. You pushed that train all around the house. I couldn t bear to give it away, so I put it up here. Andrés s eyes landed on other items that belonged to him when he was younger. Each one brought back a flood of memories that he shared with Mom. He opened one box and then another. He and Mom shared stories of the past. When Andrés opened the next box, he frowned. He didn t recognize anything in the box. He reached in and dug through the hats and clothes. Then, Andrés pulled out a medal. Oh, my goodness, Mom gasped. That belonged to my grandfather. He was awarded that medal while he was in the Army. I remember him showing me the medal and explaining how he had earned it. Mom looked through the box.
At the bottom was her grandfather s Army uniform. A strange look came over Mom. She closed her eyes briefly and then said, Andrés, those things belonged to your greatgrandfather. Andrés had seen pictures of his great-grandfather, but the photos did not mean much to Andrés. He knew his mother called her grandfather Pop, but other than that, Andrés did not know a lot about him. Pop had died when Andrés was a baby. Somehow, seeing his uniform and his medal made Pop more real for Andrés. May I put this on? Andrés asked, holding up the uniform. Mom nodded. While Andrés put on the clothes, Mom went to get the camera. When she returned to the attic, she smiled.
Andrés stood tall and gave her a salute. Mom snapped a picture and sent it to her mom, Andrés s Nana. You look a lot like Pop, Mom said with a heartwarming smile. However, Mom said, it s been a lot of fun reliving all these memories. Let s open a few more boxes. The attic has a lot of treasures, Andrés stated. May I open another box? The primary reason we came up here was to get fall decorations out of storage, Mom replied. Okay, said Andrés. He sighed, but he began to take off the uniform and refocus on the chore he had agreed to do. The End