My grandma passed away quietly and peacefully last night at the age of 92. I guess I just want to share a little about what made her so special to me.
Probably one of her most wonderful and at the same time quite maddening qualities was her ability to talk. Grams could strike up a conversation with literally anyone at any time and continue that conversation until the sun went down if we let her. This coupled with her love of giving to people or helping out those that looked lost or confused... well, she was just a really good neighbor.
One of my favorite memories is when we were at a grocery store and there was a lady that was picking through some watermelons with a slightly befuddled look on her face. Grams walked right up to her and not only assisted her in finding a nice ripe one but also continued to talk about how to assess all fruit, which continued onto the woman's garden, etc. etc. We practically had to drag Grams out of there but not w/o the two of them exchanging numbers for future correspondence.
Of the many wisdoms that Grams imparted on me, one that always stuck out was her view on street lights or more specifically the yellow light. She'd always turn around from the front when Gramps was driving and tell me that "Yellow means go like hell!" I almost feel like this was a euphemism for her life. Even when her body started to slow, every day she'd be up at the crack of dawn, fixing a king's feast for breakfast. I'd always gain 10lbs just from staying at Grandma and Grandpa's place every vacation just from the breakfasts alone. Then after breakfast she'd be out in the garden, tending to her fruit trees and flowers. Then it was back in for lunch, and then dinner; always cooking up wonderful dishes and desserts.
Grams never forgot our birthdays and holidays... We'd always, always have a card from her, year after year... lovingly covered with stickers she's collected for us.
I love you Grams, and miss you terribly. Say hi to Gramps for us and I know you'll be looking over us from above. I promise when life tries to slow me down, I'll go like hell. ^_^
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