Moving on

It has been a long week for me.  Not because of the passing of my beloved grandmother last week, but because of catching up.  To all of you that emailed me, messaged me, facebooked me and sent cards, I say thank you.  You can never really be totally ready for death when it shows up in your life, but in this case, it was a blessing. My grandmother lived a long and amazing life ....amazing to me anyway, and she was more than ready to go.  I will miss her terribly, but the truth is, I've been missing her for years.  That is to say that I have grieved off and on for some time now as Grandma slipped away from us, and so this was another step in that process. 

Today, I have to move on.  Shortly after this post my blog will return to it's regularly scheduled programing...so to speak.  And by shortly, I really just mean as soon as I get the chance to, you know, breath.  Then I will change the background and music and start posting again! 

But, Grandma will never be far from my thoughts and my heart.  That woman was really a huge part of my life .....Everyone should have a someone like that to miss one day.  Really. 

In 1995 I presented my grandmother with a book for her birthday.  It was purely selfish.  The book was titled Grandmother's Memories.  One year later, she gave it back to me and I now have 45 pages of handwritten memories!    There were pages at the front that were scripted and asked questions. 

My grandmother preferred to do things her own way, so of course, a lot of those pages have many blank spots left.  But, the back of the book is another story altogether.  There were 20-30 blank pages....she filled every one of them!  And wrote in some of the margins.  I only wish it had had 20 more pages, because I know her, and she would have filled them too! 

This is one of my most treasured possessions now!  I highly encourage you all to run out and buy some kind of journal like this for any special person in your life.  Once they are gone, it's too late. 

And now I really just want to share one of the many stories collected in her memoir.  I promise I won't fill blog posts with oodles of memorabilia.  But this is one that will give you a chuckle. 

It's a story she shared many times, but it's memorable to me because it is one of the first memories Lizzie has of her.  When I married Paul, Lizzie was four years old.  Grandma first met her when she came to Charleston for a bridal shower for me.  Which means that my grandmother was about 80 years old at the time.  I think she worried that she looked so old she would frighten children.  So, when she met a new one, she could be heard recounting this narrative.  It was Lizzie's introduction to my grandmother and Grandma's way of breaking the ice ....though I doubt Lizzie even took notice of "how old" Grandma looked.  She did however, remember this story! 

Grandma:  When I was born I was premature.  3lbs, no hair.  I was wrapped up in cotton batting and placed in a box in front of the oven for warmth.  It was the latest in incubators!  Grandma Hutchison came 20 miles by train to see me.  She told me later, "You were the prettiest baby."  Grandma Hanson lived next door.  She said, "Don't you believe it...you looked like a withered old potato!"  And, I'm sure she was right.  And I am proof that things go in cycles, for I now look like a withered old potato! 

She would laugh at her grand joke!  And we would laugh with her.  We loved our withered old potato of a grandma!