Bette with Lindsey

Bette with Lily

Joan with Eamonn and Molly

Marylou with MaryGrace

Marguerite with Connor

Nancy with Patrick and Kara

Florence with Greatgrandaughter Nicole
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My Grandmother




My grandmother is very kind. She is taking my sister Molly and my cousin Alexander to Greece and London in March. Then she is taking my cousin Charlotte and me to the summer Olympics in Greece.

She is an outdoors person. My grandmother loves the beach. They have a boat and almost every weekend in the summer we go boating. She also likes to garden. They have a beautiful garden and they give us tomatoes and plums. She is smart, and she showed my mom how to make a website on the computer. My grandmother is also very convincing. She convinced me to try out for the travel basketball team and I made it. So then I was glad I tried out.

We have done a lot together but I will always remember the night they took my sister and me to a Red Sox game. It was about 95 degrees. We were steaming, and she went and got us cups of lemon and raspberry sherbet that was frozen solid. It cooled us off right away but within minutes it was melting on our laps. We had row 5 behind home plate. I had a blast. We got home and I fell asleep in a flash. But I knew I had a great day.

My grandmother is short. My sister Molly is almost as tall as her. My grandmother is also very light. My sister and I can pick her up and spin her around in circles. She always has a smile on. Every time I see her I see her big smile. I love my grandmother.
--by James

My Father


Kind, helpful, active, dependable, and strong are all traits that describe my Pappou. One would refer to this man as my grandfather, but because he is Greek, he is Pappou to me. My entire family is very close to Pappou. Without Pappou there would be no boat, no delicious dinners every time we go there, no surprise trips to Putnam Pantry, a favorite ice cream shop, and no one I know who would defend me, no matter what.

Pappou doesn’t smile with his mouth like most people; instead, you know he is overjoyed with something when his black eyes twinkle. He enters every adventure with great enthusiasm and gets everyone excited about the smallest events. We are going to Greece and London with him, so he went to the store and purchased a language book tape, and tourist guide book so we could plan our trip and learn a little Greek. He also got us a book about the Elgin Marbles, which were taken from Greece to England, so we could decide ourselves where they should be.

Pappou doesn’t act old like most grandparents, for he dislikes sitting and chatting but he thoroughly enjoys boating. Every Sunday in the summer my family waits on the Ipswich pier for him to pull over and pick us up. We can always see his tall figure standing up top in front of the wheel steering towards the dock with his gray hair blowing back in the wind.

Pappou is a quiet person but shows his love for us through his cooking. Whenever I enter their house, a welcoming odor of warm, scrumptious food greets me. I immediately rush up the stairs and see his big frame in front of the stove adding the finishing touch to whatever feast he is preparing. He always makes all of the food for any party we are having and brings it to the host. He makes a different dinner every night just for him and my Yiayia, and he brings us all of their leftovers.

Pappou is always giving a little bit of advice and he has knowledge of a variety of topics. Lately, he has been telling us where to find cheap workers and materials, and how to put up the ceiling in our half-finished basement. He offered to help work on our basement, even though we declined. He has the biggest heart and is always doing something nice for us, whether it is leaving candy in our grill or on our garage handle, or bringing ginger ale over when we are sick. I always know something fun is coming when we hear him continuously ring our door bell and see his face peer in our window. He also always agrees with us if we have a complaint and he always sticks up for us. When I was ill and missed my soccer tournament, which we won, I didn’t get a trophy, and he didn’t think that was fair at all.

One of the biggest lessons Pappou has taught me is to put others’ needs before my own, which is one thing he has never had trouble doing. When my brother and I were in private school, we got dismissed early, so every day he drove over, picked us up, got us a snack, and let us stay in his shop even if that meant he wouldn’t be able to concentrate as well on his work.. Pappou helps people in any way he can so they are happy, no matter what the situation is. He brings food to people and is the first to propose to drive you to and from the airport. If we get locked out of our house or need some other form of help, he always comes.

I like watching him work in his shop, seeing his strong, weathered hands furiously slice the soles off old, scratched-up shoes and making them as good as new. His shop is a little disorganized, with shoes all over the place and shoe boxes littering the floor, but he gets the job done, and it is always done well. When Pappou’s father died, he was only twelve, but he worked at his cobbler shop every day after school, even though there were probably other things he would rather do. Even at that young age, he put others’ well-being before his own. Pappou has definitely made an impact on the current and future me. When I am a grandmother, I want to be just like him, amusing, active, and supportive, so I will be as important to my grandchildren as he is to me.
--by Molly