Grandma Lu Tells "B" Her Secret

Grandma Lu was a mess. She had flour and jelly all over the floor. She had sneaked into the back door of Marleewood to put her special jar in a cupboard. Sneaking around doesn't pay even when you are an elderly lady because Grandma Lu got caught. That generally happens so we must always be true not only to others but to ourselves as well.
As Grandma B was asking her question after question with a very stern face, Grandma Lu looked up at her with a sad face. She blew the hair out of her face and wiped the flour and jelly off her hands onto her shirt and said, "Why on earth are you here? I thought you were going to let Marlee have a late morning today."
Grandma B didn't answer her because she saw a tear starting to run down Grandma Lu's sad face. "What's the matter "Lu"? Why are you so sad?"
Grandma Lu sat on the floor in the middle of the mess and said, "I didn't want anyone to see me bring my jar of wishes into the kitchen. I was afraid you and my other friends would laugh at me for being silly. I wished for things that probably won't come true, so I did it in secret."
Because Grandma B and Grandma Lu were such good friends, Grandma B sat down in the middle of the mess with her good friend. "I promise I won't laugh at you. You know that, don't you?" There was some snuffling and soft chuckling and Grandma Lu said, "I guess so."
Grandma B said, "Okay, what do you want so badly that you had to do this sneaking around?"
Grandma Lu looked her friend in her eyes and said, "The thing is I didn't wish for just one thing. I wished for a whole big bunch of things. I have a secret jar of dandelions that have gone to seed. I put them in the cupboard up there in hopes that even just one (1) or two (2) of my wishes might come true."
Unbeknownst to the grandmas the children and the grownups from outside had gathered outside by the back door. They were interested in this conversation. They had never ever seen Grandma Lu sad before. She was always laughing and telling stories.

Grandma Lu quickly stood up and gave Marlee and the children a grin. She said, "I'm sorry to look sad, but everyone gets sad sometimes don't they?" Grandma B agreed and told the children that it was alright to be sad but when they felt sad they needed to tell someone about it. It might just help and then they could be happy again.
"B" looked at her friend and said, "Okay, let's see this jar of wishes that you hid up there in the cupboard. Then we will discuss all of your wishes and see if we can't make some of them come true."
Grandma Lu reached up into the cupboard and brought out her jar of dandelions that had gone to seed. She said, "I saw this on the computer and they called it a jar of wishes so I made one. What do you think?"
Grandma B said, "Let's have a cup of coffee and talk this over."
So that's what they did.
Grandma Lu said that she had wished that the beauty shop would get done so folks could get their hair done at Marleewood. That's a big wish because it will take some people to get the plumbing and remodeling done. Then I wished that I could have bouquets of flowers to decorate this place up. Spring is a wonderful time of year and I want Marleewood to look wonderful. Easter is just a couple of days away and I wished that the children could come to the Community Room and decorate cookies and decorate eggs. Oh I wished so many things I'm just a silly old lady."
What Marlee and the children heard was completely different than anything they had ever heard before. They wanted to help make Grandma Lu's wishes come true too. They went back outside and had an emergency Marleewood meeting. They talked about some of the wishes that Grandma Lu had. They could make it happen. They worked out a plan. They had something a little different in mind to start with, but they would get it done. Marlee's new friend, Finnley, was the first to offer a hand. She said, "I will ask my grandma if she and I can go to the store and do some shopping for Grandma Lu. I think I know just what could cheer Grandma Lu up. She likes flowers, doesn't she?" Everyone thought that was a great idea. They also talked about having the April birthday parties at Marleewood too. There were several of them that had birthdays this month. Maybe they could combine Easter and birthdays. Addison said that she would be glad to have her party at Marleewood. Addison said, "I'll see if I can make some treats too.

 Many others did too. Oh they giggled with happiness. They were so glad they could make their friend happy. It was going to take some work though. There were flowers and balloons to get. They were going to be so busy.

Arie and some other children knew of some beautifully painted rocks that would make the gardens at Marleewood look pretty too. Some people put their names and addresses on them. Arie's mama loved to paint rocks. She would see what she could do about getting some of them.
Blake said they would make some Easter cookies for snacks. Others said they would too.
Some children said they would decorate some Easter eggs for her. They had a good plan.
Grandma B had a plan as well. She knew a lot of people. This was her chance to make someone happy. It was Spring after all!