Grandma

Wow! Time just keeps getting away from me!  With Ryan practically living at the office for the past seven weeks, I've been too busy being the mom AND dad to blog.  I can't wait for this trial to be over and have him back!

I have been working on our Florida trip posts for weeks now, but Blogger doesn't seem to want to upload my pictures!  So frustrating!!  I will keep trying if you promise to keep being patient with me!

However, today I am thinking about one of the greatest women I have ever known.  In a lot of ways, she saved me.  She is a part of who I am and know that she influenced me for good in so many ways.  I'm talking about my Grandma Joyce. Today would have been her birthday.  She has been gone almost a year now. 

 

She wasn't always my grandma, however.  That's one of the things that I love most about her.  She kinda applied for the job.  Denise and I were two little rugrats living with my Dad and in need of some daily motherly influence.  Along came my step mom and I'm sure when she stepped back to look at the situation, she knew she was getting into a crazy situation.  My dad was hurting from his separation and divorce from my mom, and was overwhelmed with twin toddlers.  But my sweet grandma KNEW that we needed a mom and that her daughter was it.  Both my mom and grandma took us under their wings and have loved us unconditionally ever since.

My meager words can't begin to adequately express my feelings for her.   I began a blog post about her last summer after she past away, but couldn't get the words out...it was just too emotional. Emotions are still close to the surface when I think about her and miss her often.  Here are a few thoughts and memories I have of my dear grandma:

--I NEVER felt like a "step kid" around her. 

--She made me feel so special, even though I was only one of eight grandkids.

--She would always tell me how smart I was.

--She encouraged me almost daily to write things down as they happen because inevitably, I would forget them....she was so very right.

--Her house was so fun.  We spent countless hours as kids playing with her, with her toys, and in her yard.  We loved to do art projects at her house and she never seemed to have enough pencils.  One year, I BEGGED my mother to help me get her a huge bouquet of pencils for Christmas to keep at her house.  I will never forget her smile when she opened that gift.

--She was so soft spoken.  I never heard her raise her voice to anyone, ever.  I wish I had been influenced by her in this area a little more.  She treated everyone kindly.

--She kept EVERYTHING!  I mean, it took us three days to go through everything in her house after the funeral.  I found pictures of flowers that I colored for her decades ago and plates we painted on when I was very little. She had even saved my red crayon cup that I always had to drink from when I was little. There was also a large stash of toys meant for my kids that she never got around to giving them. 

--She always had a camera in her hand.  We used to tease her about taking the same pictures of the Sunday Dinner or the card game every week for years.  When we cleaned out her house, I filled my entire SUV with all of the pictures she had taken over the decades!  It has taken me almost a year to go through all of them and I have shed many a happy and sad tear over all of the memories she captured.  Even after her death, I felt her love for the little things in life.  She always focused on what was really important.

--She was a great cook.  My favorite was her stuffing on Thanksgiving. She also always had a yummy treat waiting for us when we would visit her house.

--She was a talented cake decorator.  I was the only grandchild who got a wedding cake decorated by her, because her hands hurt too much later in life.  It was such a beautiful cake and I feel so privileged for that wonderful opportunity.

--During her later years, she would get confused about where she was, but when I would visit her, she continued to ask about my kids and how they were doing. She genuinely cared about me and my family.

She taught me so much about unconditional love and acceptance.

There are so many more thoughts and memories of my wonderful grandma, but this is a good start.  One last thing I will always treasure is knowing I had the privilege of saying goodbye to her.  My mom and aunts had moved her into an assisted living home a few weeks before my trip to Paris last year.  She was going downhill pretty fast and I worried about her while on my trip.  The day after I came home, I went and saw her.  She was in bad shape and she passed away very early that next morning.  I am so grateful that she somehow knew I wanted to see her one last time and that she waited for me until I returned home before leaving this life.  How I love her even more for that!!

Grandma Joyce will always have a very special place in my heart, and I know that she is now one of my guardian angels helping me through this crazy mortal life.  How wonderful it is at this Easter time, to KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that my Savior died for all of us so that we can all live again!!  I can't wait to wrap my arms around her again!  Until then, Happy Birthday, Grandma!!  I will always love you!!