I just got the news that my Grandma passed away this evening. While I can’t say it was totally unexpected — we thought she was going to go a couple of weeks ago — it was still a bit of a shock as she rallied and seemed to be doing better than she had for a while. That can be counted as one of the Lord’s tender mercies, allowing her last days here to be happy and full of family which made her passing easier on everyone since she wasn’t suffering at the end. Another tender mercy is that my little family and I got to see her on August 1. We weren’t supposed to head west this Summer. We had decided in May that we would skip our annual trek because of fuel prices, etc. But then we decided spur-of-the-moment to head out anyway and got to see both sides of our families in a 2 week period. We saw Grandma 3 days before we headed back home and, although our visit was somewhat short, we enjoyed spending time with her. My kids all hugged their Great Grandma as we left. When she became ill only a week later, we were all grateful that we’d endured the long drive so we could see her one last time.
When I think of my Grandma, here are a few things that come to mind:
-Grandma has been alone for almost 13 years. Grandpa passed away my first year of marriage. Grandma cared for him through Alzheimer’s Disease which was really hard on her at times.
-I really hated piano lessons as a kid. Once, I agreed to sign a 2 year contract to take lessons if I could sleep over at my Grandma’s house for one night. My Grandma let me stay for 2 nights and took me shopping at the Mall which I thought was cool. I had fun with my Grandparents, but soon afterwards I found myself wondering, “What was I thinking?”
-My Grandma and Grandpa once took my sister and me and two of our cousins, Stacy an Stephanie, to the Alpine Slide. The only thing I remember about that outing is the 4 of us sitting in the backseat singing chants about diarrhea. (When you’re climbing up a mountain and you feel a little fountain, it’s diarrhea. It’s diarrhea. When you’re eating refried beans and you feel something in your jeans, it’s diarrhea. It’s diarrhea. I could go on and on…) I don’t know what my Grandparents thought of us that day but the 4 of us girls couldn’t stop laughing.
-When I was in High School I got my first perm. I wasn’t really sure about it and when my Grandma was visiting one day I asked her what she thought. She said something like, “Well, I’ve never really cared for that frizzy look.” I was devastated and remember thinking that Grandma’s were only supposed to say nice things to their grandkids. Shame on me for begging for compliments. At least she was honest.
-Grandma taught me how to stitch plastic canvas, probably when I was in Middle School though I could have been younger. My first project was a pencil holder, then I made a kleenex box holder which I was very proud of. One of the designs had a french knot in the center which gave me fits, but I was so happy when I finally figured it out. When we saw Grandma earlier this month, she sent the kids home with 2 plastic canvas cats that she made recently. The kids love them and with her passing, they just became more valuable to us.
-Grandma loved to crochet. She gave me an afghan when I graduated from high school, when I got married, and after 2 or 3 of my kids were born. If she was doing the same for my siblings and cousins, she was very busy as there were 25 of us, give or take.
-For family parties, Grandma often made her famous “Dilly Dip” which had dill pickle, green pepper, and I think sour cream (although it might have been cream cheese) and probably a few other things. It was always served with chicken-in-a-biskit crackers. Mmmm…I can taste it just thinking about it! (I also remember Grandpa telling me one year at Christmas that if I ate the ham, I’d grow hair on my chest.)
I don’t have any more Grandparents left. Jeff’s have all passed as well. Of course we’ll all miss Grandma. Even though we live far away, just knowing she was there was a comfort. But I’ll take consolation in the thought that her long-awaited reunion in heaven tonight is a happy one!
Grandma with Savannah, July 2002
Grandma holding Sadie, Summer 2005
Grandma with my sister, Amy, Spring 2004
Was she your Grandma, too? If so, what do you remember about her?
