Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Gram

My mom's mother, my Gram, died one year ago today.  She lived a wonderful life and was 96 years young at the time of her death.  I am grateful she died before Mom & Dad were killed.  Even though I had her around for such a long time and she was in such good health right up to the end, I still miss her.

I miss her laugh and the twinkle in her eyes.  I miss her wonderful sense of humor.  I miss her strawberry shortcake - my that woman could cook!  I miss the sweet way she said my name.

My office Christmas party was tonight but I just couldn't bring myself to go.  Gram dearly loved Christmas.  She made sure she had a Christmas tree in every room of her house - even the bathroom and the screened porch!  Of course the last several years that she still lived in her farm house, her kids would do most of the work in putting up all her decorations and then lovingly putting them away after Christmas.  It was quite an ordeal!

When I was growing up, Gram would write a Christmas poem every year.  The highlight of the day was when she would read the poem.  Of course, it rhymed and in it she would mention everyone in the family.  As our family grew in her later years even though I begged her to write another poem she said it was just too hard for her.  She suffered from palsy and writing was difficult for her not to mention there were so many of us that she had a hard time trying to work everyone into the poem.

Gram was a wonderful Christian lady.  She taught adult Sunday School classes for years.  She was a mainstay of her church never missing unless she was sick.  She did miss church her last Sunday on earth because she was in the hospital but she was there the week before that!  I loved going to church with her when I was in town.  It took forever to leave afterward because it seemed everyone in the entire place had to talk to her and give her a hug before they left.  She was so very loved by the entire church.  Even the teenagers of the church loved her dearly.  To me that spoke volumes about the loving woman she was.

Yes, she lived a good life and I know I will see her again when I get to heaven.  But I still miss her.  She has left our family with a great heritage!

Isaiah 59:20-21 (The Message)
"I'll arrive in Zion as Redeemer,
   to those in Jacob who leave their sins."
         God's Decree.

 "As for me," God says, "this is my covenant with them: My Spirit that I've placed upon you and the words that I've given you to speak, they're not going to leave your mouths nor the mouths of your children nor the mouths of your grandchildren. You will keep repeating these words and won't ever stop." God's orders.


5 generations: My Mom in blue, I'm behind her, my daughter Stacie is next to me, Gram is sitting in front of her holding her son, Kristopher.  Easter, 2010.

No comments:

Post a Comment