My Worst Experience (Post #3)

My worst experience was the death of my grandmother at the end of my Junior year of college.  The week before my final exams began for my spring semester my mother called me to inform me of the passing of my grandmother, her mother, who lived with us.  She suffered both a heart attack and stroke at the same time.  While my grandmother was 86, her death was unexpected, as I had just spoken to her just the other week for her birthday.  We had made plans for the summer, my grandmother, mother, and I would see a baseball game together, in addition to other adventures.  I remember how hopeful she was, and excited for us to spend time together when I returned from school.

        My grandmother, born and raised in the Bronx, was a Yankees fan.  She knew about every player, their strengths and weaknesses, and would passionately watch each game.  When the Yankees were losing, she would moan like it physically pained her.  She often fell asleep watching an evening game, and I would sneak into her room to shut her tv off.  I have never been a fan of any sport but watching baseball with my grandmother I was always a Yankees fan.  To this day I still have a fondness for the team, even though we never made it to Shay Stadium together.  Perhaps one day I will go, and I’m sure my grandmother will be with me when I do.

There are so many things I wish I could ask her.  I often find myself talking to her as if she could answer me.  I mainly wish I could tell her I love her one last time.  She was just as passionate about being a grandmother to her three grandchildren as she was about the Yankees.  She provided me with unconditional love and support, something that has shaped me as a person and a teacher.  Having someone who is always in your corner is something every child needs, but only a few are lucky enough to experience.  I hope to channel the love and support I received from my grandmother into my future students to create confident, kind, and caring adults.

Vocabulary:

1. Worst (adjective): Most serious; least pleasing.

2. Exam (noun): A test.

3. Unexpected (adjective): Something that was not predicted or likely to happen.

4. Fondness (noun): A feeling of happy remembrance.

5. Raise (adjective): To bring up or rear a child.

6. Physically (adverb): In a way that pertains to the body.

7. Passionate (adjective): Caused by a strong feeling or belief.

Vocabulary Exercise: Write a sentence using each of the vocabulary words above.  Use the definition, part of speech, and my example paragraph to help you write.  You can change the words' part of speech to fit your sentence.

1.  _________________________________________________

2.  _________________________________________________

3.  _________________________________________________

4.  _________________________________________________

5.  _________________________________________________

6.  _________________________________________________

7.  _________________________________________________

Grammar Point: Past Simple vs. Past Continuous

The past simple tense is used to describe actions that occurred at a specific moment in time in the past.  To form the past simple tense you often need to ad "-ed" to the end of the main verb.  There are some verbs with irregular past simple forms that require practice reading and writing to learn.  The past continuous, however, describes actions that were in progress at any general time in the past.  The past continuous tense requires the verb "to be" in addition to the main verb and "-ing" ending.  For example, "She was having a great time until she fell down the stairs" employs the verb "to be" in the form of was and the main verb "to have" with its "-ing" ending.

Grammar Excercise: Determine if the sentence contains an example of Past Simple or Past Continuous by writing either PS (past simple) or PC (past continuous).  Underline the verb or verb group.

Example: Bobby dropped his pencil.                        ____PS____

1.  I saw a movie the other night.                              __________

2.  She was going to the park.                                   __________

3.  Last year, I traveled to Rome.                              __________

4.  He was making dinner around 5 O'clock.            __________

5.  Ted was reading all kinds of books.                     __________

6.  Fran left the show early.                                       __________

Link to Additional Resources:

If you are experiencing grief or loss check out these CDC tips and resources.