Top 5 Things that Freak Out My Grandparents

I appreciate everything my grandparents do for me, and I’m really not trying to make fun of them. It’s just…If I didn’t laugh, I’d assuredly cry. Here are some things that get their injera in a bundle.

1.      Bare Feat 

I tried walking out of my room the other day without my flip flops. After SCREECHING, my grandmother pushed me right back in. I thought she broke my rib. She can’t be more than 5 feet tall. 

2.      Joining the Military 

My grandparents don’t know that I once interned for a Department of Defense think tank. Nobody tell them! They have no reason whatsoever to believe that I’d enlist. Nevertheless, this does not stop my grandfather from pleading with me, every single day, not to join the Army. He’s convinced that I’m going to be on the frontlines of a major US deployment in Somalia. I just keep nodding my head whenever he brings up the subject. 

3.        When I Don’t Wear a Jacket 

I think this is a pretty common thing with the grandparents. Grandchild doesn’t wear jacket, grandchild gets cold, grandchild dies. It’s science. 

4.      Showers

Grandpa is constantly reminding me of the likelihood that I’ll slip in the shower and split my head open. This actually does happen. That I’ve made it this far in my shower career without dying, he’s convinced, is luck. 

5.      My Cooking

The idea that I don’t have someone in my apartment to cook for me is shocking to my grandparents. They think I’ll starve. I don’t think it’s a gender thing, but I do think it’s a me thing. The only thing I cooked in college was ravioli. My roommate called it the Birhanu Special. I swear I’ve gotten A LOT better since arriving in Ethiopia. I even cook Indian food sometimes with my roommate! (granted I follow her strict instructions...)

Well, that’s all I can come up with now. I’d like to reiterate, I love and appreciate my grandparents and I’m so lucky to have them in this country, let alone on this earth, with me. But seriously, some of this stuff is ridiculous.