I will get back to writing about my Mammoth vacation in a few days, but there is something more immediate that I feel compelled to write about.  My grandmother passed away this past Sunday July 4th.  While her passing was not unexpected, the news was no less saddening.

I am fortunate to have known my grandma for many years.  While I have fond and distant memories of her from my childhood, my best memories came from knowing her as I grew older.  As I see it, she was my grandma the moment  I was born, but she became my friend after I graduated high school and I lived with her and my grandfather during my first two years of college.   A lot happened during the two years I lived with her including the passing of my grandfather, whom I loved very much, as well as the passing of my grandmother’s sister Aunt Dorothy.  Both of my grandparents loved and supported not only me, but both of their children and their respective spouses and all of their grandchildren.  My grandfather did not get the opportunity to meet any of his great grandchildren, but my grandmother delighted in the opportunity to chat and play with the youngest members of her family.

While my parents provided the most influence on my life as a I grew to an adult, my grandmother’s love and guidance also helped shape me.  Some of the best advice she ever gave me was to “focus on what you can control and don’t worry so much on what you can’t”.  Sage advice from a petite old lady. After completing my first two years of college, I moved to Long Beach and lived with a few of my friends.  While I enjoyed being on my own, I visited Grandma frequently often doing my laundry while we caught up on the latest happenings with each other.  The many hours and days I spent with Grandma while attending college form a collection of memories and emotion that I will carry with me the rest of my life.  I guess being a little too wild my last year in high school causing my parents to require me to live with my grandparents was really a blessing in disguise.

My grandma:

  • Coffee drinker
  • Stubborn as a bull
  • She taught me how to iron (seams together)
  • Watcher of old black and white movies
  • Gardener
  • Late night snacker
  • Not a friend of bees
  • Hair in curlers
  • Gin and tonic drinker
  • Reader of romance novels
  • Host of the family Christmas bonanza
  • Person who said “wash my teeth” not “brush my teeth”
  • See’s Molasses Chips eater
  • Stain removal expert
  • Loving wife
  • Master chef of baked beans
  • Decorator focused on the color gold
  • Pal to several good friends – Mary,  Boots, Ramona, Rose
  • Player of “Kings in the Corner”
  • Not the best traveler when flying was involved
  • Frank Sinatra fan
  • Had a wonderful laugh that could crack me up
  • My grandma
  • My friend

I miss you Grandma.  I love you.