Grandma

This picture of my grandma and me was taken nearly 48 years ago. I love her polka dotted dress and boy did I have some pudgy legs. She was the same age in this picture that I am now. We lived in this big red brick house until I was 14 and she lived in the apartment upstairs. She was such an important part of my life. She taught me how to embroidery, knit, and crochet. I still have the first little sampler that I embroidered with her help to earn a girl scout badge. I will have to find that and make something out of it. I can remember sitting in her living room learning how to do each stitch and making a row of each one on a piece of linen. She was always very patient and caring with us kids. I think she enjoyed children - she babysat for years even after she retired. She would get off work at midnight from the hospital and I would wait up for her. We would go up to her apartment, watch tv, have a snack - then go to bed. She may work on a crossword puzzle or we would say the rosary. I used to love to sleep under a baby bonnet quilt that she had.

And this picture of my grandma and me taken 48 years later. I usually go visit my family in Iowa during the summer, but last summer I did not get back to see them. I decided in October that I needed to go back instead of waiting until this summer - this was the last time that I saw my grandma. She passed away in January and I look at this picture and I am so glad I made the decision to go back to visit. She was 95 years old - and her mind was still so good. It was always fun for me to go visit her. I have so many great memories of her growing up and one of my only true regrets is living so far away from her and the rest of my family the past 25 years. I know she is with me still. I miss her, but I smile when I look at this picture - because we had her in our lives for so long and I do have so many great memories. She was always a very strong willed, independent woman and she did not like being in a nursing home at all. She made that very clear to everyone. She seemed sad this last time I saw her and I hated that. She could not see well enough to crochet, read, or do crossword puzzles anymore and I know she missed those things. But I think she was happy this day and when we took this picture. She was so very special to me.

"Surely, two of the most satisfying experiences in life must be those of being a grandchild or a grandparent." ~ Donald A. Norberg