An Ode to Simple Living: A Summer Spent with My Grandparents

Image Courtesy: Hannah King

When I envision summer, I often think of a time to let loose, travel around, try new foods and hang out with friends. Or at least that was how I viewed summer up until this past year. 

I dreaded the fate I knew was coming and looked into the future with a sense of fear: Corporate America. I’ve always known that I wanted to work in a corporate setting, or at least have a job that provided me with stability and a routine. But I was scared that this corporate lifestyle would bring me down and confine me to only the four walls of my small cubicle. 

I accepted a summer corporate internship in Greater New York area in January of this year. While I was over the moon to have found a career path that excited me, I worried about how I would spend my summer in a city that I am not from. While the internship program offered housing for interns, I chose a unique route and chose to live with my grandparents right outside Philadelphia, PA. I know what you’re thinking: You lived with your grandparents as a 21-year-old college student for 3 months?! Yes. And I can confidently say it was one of my best decisions this summer. 

I learned a lot this summer — from both my time in corporate America and my time living with my 70-year-old grandparents. 

I learned that it’s okay to live slowly. Not in a physical sense, as my grandmother and I would walk miles after dinner at a rapidly fast pace many nights, but in the sense that it is okay to take a step back and enjoy the life we have been given. It was in the moments of stillness this summer that I took a holistic view and thought about how grateful I felt to have a chance to be with people I loved for the whole summer. I would look outside the window as I walked down the stairs every morning to see my grandmother sitting peacefully outside, observing her flowers and soaking sun rays. In these same moments, my grandfather would sip his hot water and indulge himself in another book. Both were quiet moments that I found a surreal amount of peace and comfort in. 

I learned that it’s love that makes a house a home. Every night, without fail, I would come home to food on the table, a warm smile and a house filled with love. They would make sure someone saw me out the door every morning, and someone was always awake when I would return home from work or a weekend trip to New York. It was the thought that someone cared and was excited to see me that kept me motivated in many ways throughout the summer. 

I learned that even if an idea is scary, it just might be worth it in the end. I will admit I was scared to live with my grandparents this summer. I was worried I would not have the picture-perfect summer with trips, great photos, or anything to tell my friends about when I got home from school. But, I found that it was in this fear and slight discomfort that I not only grew as a person but made a lasting impact on the people I care most about.

 On the night before my drive back to Athens GA, we celebrated my grandfather’s birthday. As he read the card I purchased for him and the personalized note that I included, I noticed tears well in his eyes. He told the room of people that this summer was special to him and that he felt a deep sadness knowing that the house would be a lot quieter and emptier now that I was leaving. It was at that moment I knew that I had made the right decision to live with them this summer. 

My grandparents love their routine, and I knew that by being there this summer I would maybe disrupt it just a little. But in the end, the three of us had created a summer that was truly special. It was a summer filled with joy, laughter, good food, lots of Phillies games on TV and a whole lot of love.

And, to me, that is something that rent can’t buy. 

Strike Out,

Hannah King

Editor: Madeline Jankowski

Athens