Saturday, January 31, 2015

Grandma

I'm not much for publicly sharing my feelings, but I'm feeling quite nostalgic today.  My grandma passed away last night, January 30, 2015 - surrounded by loved ones.  There were many tears shed for this amazing woman - I don't know if there is any way I could convey how much she meant to me - and to so many others.  I've written a few posts about her, the first one was her 85th birthday:


That was only (almost) 9 years ago - seems like forever in some ways, not so long in others.  She was still active and mowing her grass then.  Amazing woman.  When I bought my first house, my lawnmower broke and my grass got a little high before I got it fixed.  My grandma was in her 70s at that time - around 74 I'd say - and she loaded a push mower into her car and drove to my house when I was at work one day and mowed my grass.  She also weeded my flower beds.  

First family Christmas picture:


This picture hangs at my grandma's house with a sign under it that says "All Because Two People Fell In Love".  My grandpa died before I was born, but I've always known what an amazing person he was because my grandma loved him so much.  She never stopped loving him.  She told me many stories about him that I will cherish forever, and someday write down so my children can read them and know their legacy.  

Grandma's house:


I had a wonderful childhood, and I have many memories of going to Grandma's house.  Since we went every Sunday and I've lived on the same street as my grandma for most of my life, you can imagine how many memories I have there.  

Growing up in a big family is the greatest blessing I could imagine - but as a teenager, boy did I have a lot of people to answer to when I messed up.  Those same people also were my biggest supporters.  

So many thoughts in my head right now, so many I want to share - more for myself than anything.  This is all I can manage right now. Rest in peace, grandma.  I love you so very much and am so grateful for all of the years I had with you.