Remembering Grams...

Those of you who know me well, knew my grams. It would be impossible to have spent any sort of significant time with me and not have heard of her, you see, she and I have always been close. My grams, whose real name was Margaret, was known to most by grams or grandma. Hadley's middle name is in her honor. Grams would have been 94 in April, her long life has shown her more than most. She lost both her parents at a young age, raised all of her siblings in times before children were put into foster homes when parents were lost, was married to my grandfather for 50 years and was only separated from him by his death, lost a son, lived through the Depression and saw amazing advancements in technology. Grams liked to say, "the only thing I know about computers is how to spell the word and I’m not even sure if I have that right". She was an amazing woman.

Grams used to care for my sister and I when we were home sick from school. I remember doing dishes with her in her kitchen once when I was a kid and we had a water fight with the sprayer from the sink. Only a really cool grandma does stuff like that. We used to go to her house after school before our mom got home. She would carve apples for us with peanut butter and always have the best snacks waiting on the table for the minute we walked through the door. I would have sleepovers at her house in middle school and high school on saturday nights and we would watch the golden girls and eat ice cream. I remember sitting next to her on the couch and her running her fingers through my hair.

It was hard to watch Grams move from someone who would drive you to doctor appointments, take you shopping and go on vacation with you become old and leave this world. My own dear mother took care of her the last 18 years of her life, with the last three being spent in the nursing home. Grams life became simple, it was filled with American Idol, deal or no deal, tiger woods (before the scandal) and political stances. She had Bush all figured out and would be sure to tell you what she thought.

My mom took the biggest hit in caring for Grams. She became her caretaker for 15 years before Grams entered a nursing home three years ago. It has worn on her, but everyday she woke up and did it. She made all of her meals, bathed her, cleaned for her, did her shopping, did her laundry, brought in her mail, and more. When Grams entered the nursing home, she was there at least four days out of the week, usually more, to make sure she was taken care of. She too is an amazing woman and I admire her unfailing devotion to her mother.

Grams had so many stories. The stories were amazing. They never got old. They made me marvel at all she had seen and done in her almost 94 years. I will try with all my might to remember each and every one to tell Hadley and Harper someday. I will tell them what an amazing woman she was. I will tell them how much she loved all of us and especially them. I will tell them that this amazing woman made her mommy always feel like the most special of all girls. I only hope in my heart that grams knew this...

When some people pass on there is a list of accomplishments they had on this earth. My grams didn’t sit on lots of committee’s, start any amazing foundations, become president of any companies, but her list of accomplishments is much more important that any of those things. She loved. She listened. She made you feel like you were the most important person in her world. She was remarkable and am so blessed that she was my grams. I am so happy she is with the love of her life, her son and most importantly God, but I will miss her so very much here on this earth.