Grandma's List

Rosa is eighty years old and she lives in Miami. She has lived in the same house for fifty years. She has a big family, a small garden and a lot of stories. But there are some things she has never done.

Last Christmas her granddaughter, Daniela, asked her a question. "Grandma, have you ever been on a plane?" Rosa laughed. "No, never! I came to Florida by boat, and I have never left." Daniela was surprised. "Have you ever eaten sushi?" "Sushi? Raw fish? Never." "And have you ever seen snow?" "Only in movies."

That night Daniela wrote a list and called it "Grandma's List": a plane, sushi, snow, a concert, a tattoo. "A tattoo?" said Rosa. "I am eighty, not eighteen!" But she didn't say no.

In March they went to a Japanese restaurant. Rosa tried sushi and said, "It's cold!" Then she ate twelve pieces. In June they went to a rock concert in the park. Rosa danced with the young people and lost her glasses.

In December they got on a plane to New York. Rosa held Daniela's hand during the takeoff. "This is nothing," she said after ten minutes. "The boat was terrible." In Central Park, it started to snow. Rosa opened her mouth and caught a snowflake. She didn't say anything for a long time.

Now the list is finished. Well, almost. Rosa has eaten sushi, she has flown, she has seen snow and she has been to a concert. But she hasn't gotten a tattoo. "Next year," she says. "A small one. A snowflake." Daniela is already writing a new list.