Only Bob Takes Care of Late Granny’s Garden, Finds Cans Full of Cash behind Bushes When 18 — Story of the Day

Years passed, but Bob never forgot to care for his grandmother's beloved garden as per her instructions. Little did he know that the garden harbored an overwhelming gift for him from the past.

It was the saddest day in the life of 12-year-old Bob. He knelt and cried by her grave until his knees and eyes were sore, and still, the grief of losing Grandma Gracie didn't get any lighter.

She had been the sole caretaker of Bob and his three younger siblings for ten years since their parents passed away in a plane crash. And while Granny Gracie had grown weaker and more forgetful with age, she had never let it affect the comfortable childhoods of her daughter's children.

But now that she was gone, another family member was suddenly very eager to take care of the children. It was aunt Lacey, Granny Gracie's other daughter.

Lacey was a woman in her late 40s, and the children hadn't heard or seen her much, given that she had opted for a life cut away from her "old nag" of a mother.

Now, all of a sudden, she was in the humble house of Granny Gracie, crying fake tears and trying to lure Bob and his siblings with imported chocolates and false praise.

"You, Matthew, are so talented! And Brianna and Lily, you girls are so pretty! I've got a bagful of dresses and shoes for all of you! Bob, for you, too!" Aunt Lacey cooed.

Her sweet facade seemed to have worked on the younger boy and girls, but Bob was an old soul in a child's body, and he could see the lady's intentions as clear as day.

Honor the little legacies your elders so lovingly built.

Anybody who saw her would know that Lacey was in it to claim the only remaining property of her mother — the house. She would wait a few years until the kids could be sent away to high school or college, and then she would perhaps live off their salaries and buy a bigger, fancier house.

"This dusty old dump is no good for you kids anyway!" Aunt Lacey would say. "And that garden…can you even call that a garden?"

That was a sentence that irked young Bob. He loved that garden just as much as his grandmother did.

It was Granny Gracie's little corner of the universe that was in perpetual bloom. There were plants, shrubs, and bushes older than Bob himself. And each of them had a name, too. Bob remembered all of them. Just like he remembered which plant needed to be watered, how much and how many days a week, and which flowers bloomed only once a year.

The garden was a treasure that Granny Gracie had left to her little boy Bob before she passed. "You are a very caring and gentle young boy, Bob. That's why plants love to respond to you and grow. Don't let anything take away that gentleness, alright, my boy?" she would make Bob promise.

And while there was a much bigger treasure awaiting Bob under the surface of the soil, his siblings and aunt failed to understand why he would dirty his hands every day digging around in the garden.

"Look at him digging the garden like an old woman when he should be running and playing and having fun like the rest of you!" Lacey pointed the kids to Bob.

"Let's call him Grandma Bob!" Lacey laughed, reeling the innocent kids in to join her distasteful mockery.

"Grandma Bob! Grandma Bob! Garden-digger Grandma Bob!" the kids would chant, not knowing how much their words hurt their elder brother.

Years passed, and Bob went from being a school kid to a high school teen without losing his childlike sincerity and gentleness of heart. He studied hard, made tons of friends, and still, he never forgot to tend to his grandmother's patch of heaven on earth.

And even though the siblings were now bigger and more mature, they mocked him along with Aunt Lacey for his obsession with the garden. Not that they cared to pick up a shovel or water a plant ever.

On his 18th birthday, Bob woke up and walked straight to the garden, remembering what his grandmother had once told him. "Bobby dear, when you turn 18, I want you to plant 18 new seeds across the garden. You can plant them behind the bushes here, and you can choose any kind of plants you like…"

Bobby had been collecting different seeds for the past year, and he was finally ready to plant them.

"This is for you, sweet grandma!" Bobby mumbled to the skies before clawing the shovel into a perfect spot to sow a seed.

But when the shovel dug the mud, it hit something unexpected. There was a metallic clang, and Bob was curious to find out what it was.

To his shock, it was an old can of cat food. And when Bob opened the can, he couldn't believe what he had found in it. It was a roll of cash… $2000, to be exact!

"Who has left that much money under the soil?" Bob wondered and promised he would try to find out the rightful owner after he finished planting the 18 seeds.

So he struck the shovel on another patch of mud, and strangely, he found another can underneath with $3000 in it!

Soon, every spot he was digging had a can full of cash, and within an hour, Bob had dug 17 such spots and collected more money than he had ever seen.

When Bob finally dug the 18th time, he saw a note fall off the base of the last can of money.

With excited muddy hands, he read the words written in Granny Gracie's pearly handwriting:

"My dearest Bobby,

Happy 18th birthday, sweetheart! You must be wondering how I knew you'd be here on this exact day reading this perfectly timed birthday wish. I knew that even after I left, you would have taken care of my garden with all your heart. I knew you would tend to every corner and remember every instruction.

Just like you remembered the instruction I gave you for this special day. I knew you would sincerely dig up the spots, looking to plant more seeds like I asked you to.

And that was the perfect way to surprise you on your 18th birthday! I asked our neighbor, Mrs. O'Donnell, to help hide these cans of money in the garden, knowing that only you would find it. Because let's be honest, your aunt or your siblings don't care enough about the garden to ever step on it. They wouldn't even know the right end of a shovel!

Now, Bobby, I know you think this is a lot of money. But I also know you will spend it wisely with that intelligent, industrious head of yours!

Thank you for staying gentle and caring for my beautiful space years after I was gone.

Now go fulfill your dreams!

I love you forever,

Your Granny Gracie."

Bob stood motionless as his tears wet his grandmother's sweet words and reminded him of her kind heart. He carried the money to his room and spent several hours thinking of the best way to use it.

The following week, Aunt Lacey got an unexpected anonymous offer for her mother's house. The money was too tempting to refuse, and she happily signed the papers giving up the house. It was only when she saw the big check that she recognized the name of the house's new owner. It was Bob!

Bob also split a part of the money among his siblings, despite how they had mocked and teased him in the past. "I don't blame you. You didn't know grandma as closely as I did!" he said gracefully, bringing tears to their eyes.

And finally, with the last big chunk of granny's gift money, Bob got a degree in business management and transformed the old house into a cozy and intimate little holiday home. The rent he earned off that property became his steady lifelong income. He hired the best staff to run the place, but there was one part of it only Bob took care of — his grandmother's garden.

What can we learn from this story?

• Honor the little legacies your elders so lovingly built. Bob was only a 12-year-old boy when his grandmother died, but he found a way to keep honoring and loving his grandmother.
• Whatever you do, do it with all your heart. Bob was so sincere, gentle, and caring that his grandmother was able to leave him a perfectly timed surprise to change his life.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about another young boy who does his best to maintain his beloved late grandmother's garden, and is startled to hear her voice talking to him again!

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.