Elsie just wants Josh, her grandson, to meet someone with whom he can consider settling down. When a young new teacher enrolls at her kindergarten, she thinks that she has hit the jackpot. But when Josh meets Allison, Elsie learns that they already have a connection.
I’m a meddling grandmother. Not in a bad way — I just want my grandson Josh to move along with his life. He’s 27 and spends most of his time at work or gaming.
During weekends, he stays at home, working on something around the house, or gaming.
“You need to get out more, Josh,” I said. “I want you to live your life to the fullest! Don’t you want to meet someone?”
“I get it, Gran,” he would say, pausing his game. “But I’m just not interested in that at the moment. Work is taking up all my time and energy, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”
“You’re not getting any younger,” I said, handing him chips to snack on.
“It’s because you’re surrounded by kids all day, so you just want great-grandchildren,” he laughed.
Josh wasn’t wrong. I was a kindergarten teacher, and I loved every moment of it. But I was done with the life of raising children away from their homes. Now, at 70, I wanted a quiet life of knitting and baking — a soft life, as Josh put it.
I’m leaving my position at the school at the end of the year. And maybe it’s just maternal instinct, but I wanted to know that Josh would be okay and not so alone.
A few months ago, we welcomed a new teacher at the kindergarten, Allison.
She was a few years younger than Josh, and I loved having her around during the day. So, of course, I thought about setting her up with him.
But I knew my grandson — Josh would never agree to an arranged date. He probably wouldn’t even show up.
The next best thing was to invite Allison over for dinner, where Josh would be forced to meet her.
“Alli,” I said to her one day during school. “Would you like to come over for dinner?”
“Yes! Of course, I would, Mrs. Barnard,” she said. “Since moving here, I’ve really missed family dinners. This will be great.”
I arranged for Allison to come over for dinner on a Friday evening. She went on and on about coming early to help with the cooking or bringing things over.
“Please just let me help, Mrs. Barnard,” she pleaded, as she helped me put the toys away one afternoon.
“You can bring dessert,” I told her. “And call me Elsie.”
I loved her.
And I knew that she would complement Josh well.
But nothing on earth could have prepared me for the connection between Josh and Allison.
That evening, as I was setting the table, Josh walked in.
“What’s this about?” he asked, nodding to the table.
“We’re having a new teacher over for dinner, okay?” I said, putting the cutlery in place.
“Sure, do you need me to help you?” he asked.
Allison arrived, her presence a breath of fresh air, carrying a cake with her.
She hugged me at the door and made herself at home — while Josh was still in his bedroom.
And then, the entire evening was turned upside down.
“Allison?” Josh’s voice came from the doorway, a mix of disbelief and an inexplicable hint of recognition.
“Josh?” Allison answered, her eyes wide. “Mrs. Barnard, this is your grandson? Josh?”
Confusion wrapped the room like a thick fog.
“Wait, you two know each other?” I asked, my heart racing at the possibilities of their connection.
“Yeah, Gran,” Josh said, sitting down.
“How?” I pressed on. We were past the niceties; I needed to know more.
“Allison is my sister,” he declared, each word resonating with the weight of a thousand unspoken stories.
The room fell silent.
“Explain, please,” I told Josh.
Josh isn’t my biological grandson. In fact, I had spent years of my life wanting a child, but I struggled with personal relationships. So, when I was 48, I took the plunge and went to an orphanage.
That’s where I met Josh. He was 5 years old and was a survivor of an accident in which his parents had died.
“Elsie,” Mandy, the social worker, said. “He’s a great kid! He’s curious, charming, and polite as ever. He just needs a chance to get out of here and live.”
When I met him, he was a scared little boy who had lost the most important people to him.
“What about the rest of his family?” I asked. “Wouldn’t they come looking?”
“There isn’t anyone else,” Mandy said. “We’ve searched. Which is why he had to be separated from his sister, too. She was adopted three weeks ago.”
“And the family didn’t want to take Josh?” I asked.
“Sadly, no,” Mandy admitted. “They just wanted the youngest child we had, so that they could have as much of her childhood as possible.”
In the end, despite my asking for more information about Josh’s sister, there was just no way such confidential information could be given out.
I adopted Josh as his grandmother because I was already going gray, and I didn’t want anyone to ask him why his mother was so old.
Eventually, on his 15th birthday, I told him the truth about the adoption — but nothing about his sister because I just didn’t have the information.
So, Josh has known the truth — or as much of the truth as possible.
“Tell me,” I pressed on.
“Gran, after you told me the truth about me being adopted, I felt settled. I mean, you had chosen me, after all. But I just felt that there was more to the story, you know?”
I nodded. I didn’t want to interrupt him. But I would choose this boy every single time.
“So, a few months ago, I went back to the orphanage, and I was told about a sister — Allison. And they were able to give me information because we were biological siblings.”
“And then, Josh found me on Facebook,” Allison chimed in. “We’ve been talking for a while. Although, he didn’t tell me the truth at first.”
“Well, I didn’t know if you knew the truth or not,” Josh retorted. “I couldn’t just say that I found your details in an old file at an orphanage.”
“I didn’t think that our first meeting would happen here, in your home,” Allison said.
“I think we need some dinner,” I said, waking up to get the food.
As we sat down at the table, I silently observed Josh and Allison’s reunion. I had absolutely no idea that there was a possibility that they could have known each other, let alone be siblings.
Josh ate quietly, processing his thoughts while he chewed. Allison’s eyes were glazed over — I wondered what she was thinking, and whether she was okay.
“Gran, why did you invite Allison over?” Josh asked, pouring more wine.
“Because I wanted to play matchmaker,” I said honestly.
Allison started giggling, and soon the room echoed with laughter.
The sense of awkwardness that had initially overwhelmed me transformed into a profound joy — I had hoped to bring love into Josh’s life, never imagining it would come in the form of a sister’s bond long severed by fate.
But their roles in each other’s lives were restored.
Later, when Allison took it upon herself to do the dishes, Josh and I stood outside.
“I can’t believe this,” Josh whispered, his voice cracking with emotion as he turned to me.
“I’m as surprised as you are,” I said, looking at the night sky.
“You’ve given me so much,” he said. “And now, you’ve unknowingly brought Allison back. We’ve been talking, but neither of us had the courage to actually meet.”
The rest of the night unfolded with stories of childhood memories lost and found, of heartaches and hope, and the unshakeable bond of family.
As I lay in bed that night, the house quiet once more, I couldn’t help but feel that their meeting was predestined by some other force.
At least now, Allison will be in Josh’s life, in some capacity or another.
15+ Items That Had the Internet Anxiously Searching for Clues
Ever stumbled upon an object that left you scratching your head in confusion? We’ve all been there! Our inquisitive nature just won’t let us rest until we’ve uncovered its true purpose. But gone are the days when we had to trek to the library or beg an expert for answers. Thanks to the power of the internet, we’ve got a whole army of online detectives at our fingertips! And boy, have they uncovered some wild secrets about mysterious objects.
1. “It’s rubber or silicone, the size of a fingertip; it doesn’t erase; it’s about as hard as a bouncy ball but doesn’t bounce like a bouncy ball. Doesn’t light up. What is it?”
Answer: It’s “an 80’s light bulb eraser without the metal bottom editing to add they never really erased anything”
2. “What are these metal things on the corners of these stairs and their purpose?”
Answer: These are corner dust guards. They make it easier to sweep dust out of the corners.
3. “What is this thing? A small gold pig container with a removable tiny spoon for a tail”
Answer: It’s a salt cellar.
4. “What’s happening here?”
Answer: “Evaluation trial trenching” is done to make sure there are no important archaeological artefacts that might be destroyed by excavation.
5. “Why does this Stop sign look different?”
Answer: These are blinders, typically used so the sign can be read from a narrow angle. They’re also called directional shields. You’ll see them on traffic lights a lot more often.
6. “Plastic-like, circular object made of ‘cells.’ It can be found on several beaches, in Sardinia (Italy).”
Answer: This is biofilm used to treat waste water.
7. “I now own these neon rainbow acrylic mystery sticks. Anyone know what I bought?”
Answer: These are multi-color acrylic Mahjong pushers.
8. “I found this when cleaning my parents basement. It’s made out of wood and the paint is heavily chipped.”
© Mimosa****** / Reddit / Reddit
Answer: It’s a phone stand. The vertical cavity is for your city phone book or books. The top is a handle for moving it about.
9. “What is this toilet’s purpose?”
Answer: This is a 1950s Standard “Sanistand” urinal for women.
10. “This fancy hotel has a shallow tub with 2 sides.”
Answer: You’re supposed to keep your feet in the warm water first and then quickly put them in the cold water (repeat a few times). This is supposed to help with circulation. These tubs are usually used in spas and other wellness or health-related facilities.
11. “This thing is in the middle of the wall in my 1906 house.”
Answer: It’s a capped off gas line from when they used gas lighting.
12. “This metal covering on the floor inside our new house, screwed to the ground.”
© holographic********* / Reddit
Answer: This is a built-in floor outlet.
13. “This pumpkin thing opens on a hinge, there is a latch inside with a small glass jar.”
Answer: It is a vinaigrette, a piece of jewelry containing smelling salts or perfume that women hung from a chatelaine chain in Victorian times.
14. “I found this weird thing in a junk drawer.”
Answer: The classic Sunbeam Mixmaster had a juicer attachment which looked like a bowl attached to the top of the mixer. This is the spout from which the juice pours out. The wire part had a small sieve to filter the pulp.
15. “What is this ice phenomenon I found on the forest floor today?”
Answer: The term for it is “frost flower” and has to do with moisture freezing as it escapes plant tissue.
16. “What is this tall piece of plastic with a metal base that collapses into it?”
Answer: This is a clarinet (or similar instrument) stand.
17. “This strange object from Tiffany’s mysteriously given to my wife by her grandmother while refusing to say what it was.”
Answer: This thing is for stirring drinks.
18. “I found this while cleaning out the attic. It’s wood, looks handmade, measures 8 inches, but I have no idea what it is or what it does.”
Answer: It’s a Yacouba Double Spoon — a symbol of hospitality in traditional African art. It represents 2 very distinct universes that are opposite.
19. “White plastic object with squares and rectangles; it’s light and has nothing written on it.”
Answer: It’s a battery holder for the original battery in the Mercedes Benz W168. Source: I had that car (also English user manual page: 295)
20. “A small metal object that fits in the palm of my hand. The gold-colored part slides up and down but can be locked in place with the adjuster screw.”
Answer: It looks like this fountain pen holder for an embosser.
21. “Small metal bowl with 4 legs and threaded lip”
Answer: “Radiator cap for Ford Model T 1909 to 1927.”
Bonus: “I saw this weird cloud while running.”
Looking for a wilder ride filled with mysterious objects and online sleuths? Then you won’t want to miss this article! We’ve compiled 15 of the most bizarre discoveries that left people scratching their heads — until the internet detectives swooped in to save the day.
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