Grandma R.

My grandmother (my dad's mom) passed away today. It was a blessing, since she had been suffering for awhile and now she is finally at peace. It is still hard to let our loved ones go! I have so many fond memories of her that I thought I would share some of them . . . not only to show you what a wonderful person she was, but to also have it logged on my blog for years to come so I can always look back and remember. Hopefully I will be able to add to this list throughout the years as memories come back to me that will undoubtedly be triggered by things! If anyone else has memories of her, I would love to hear them either by adding a comment, by calling me, or sending me an e-mail! :-)

* Growing up my grandma worked at local bakery in town. Not only was it a treat to go see her, but it was also a treat because that is just what we got! Elephant ears were my favorite! I have yet to have another elephant ear like I did as a kid! They were huge and flaky. . . I am getting hungry just thinking about them! There were also many other delicious treats that the bakery had to offer including their famous Bismarck Donuts. Actually just recently my dad brought us home some cherry filled Bismarcks from a nearby town (since the bakery my grandma worked at is no longer running). . . and one bite into the donut, I could close my eyes and it was like I was back on Main Street in that little old bakery sitting at a table with my dad while my Grandma was running around and sometimes sitting if there wasn't any customers.

* Speaking of running around, she was the type of person that whenever we would come over to visit, she never sat still. She was so busy waiting on everyone and checking to make sure every one's plates were always full, she never got to eat her own meal. At least ten times a visit my dad would say, "Mom, just sit down and visit!" She would listen to his command for about thirty seconds and then was off again to bring more food to the table or to refill someones coffee.

* That being said, she always cared that people were comfortable. To prove this point, if you would have seen her living room she had at least four lazy boy rocking chairs plus a couch. She got the chairs on sale and was happy when people would come to visit that they all could sit comfortably on one of her chairs. Everytime I would walk into her living room, I would always think to myself, "Wow, that is a lot of furniture!" Everyone that came to her house had a chair and was comfortable! :-)

* You never left grandma's house without something in your hand. Usually she would give us any kind of treat she had laying around. It was usually bananas!!! You could never say no, because she would give it to you anyways!

* She always cared about people and she was never scared of work. In fact growing up she was the only grandma I knew who worked two full time jobs. She worked at the bakery and at the retirement center. She was always working! You never saw her sitting still, she was always up to something!

* When she wasn't doing something, you would often see grandma ringing her hands together. She had a lot of nervous energy! :-) A lot of times she also had her keys in her hands (at least when she was visiting us). She would twirl and twirl her hands together over the keys. If you take a look at our wedding pictures that she is in, she even has the keys in her hands for the pictures! I love that about my wedding pictures with her in them. I remember the day I got back my pictures, I noticed it right away that she had her keys in her hands. It was so fitting and I remember saying, "That's so Grandma! I am glad I will always be able to remember her doing that, when I look back at these pictures!"

* Growing up Grandma would come out to the ranch to visit. In the summers I never remember her not picking some Rhubarb (she made the best strawberry, rhubarb jelly ever!) and she would also often come out to take a swim in the lake. I remember this very vividly, because she had a blue swimming suit that looked like it was from the 1940's and then she always wore a swimming cap. . . which I thought was the weirdest thing ever! She was the only person I had ever saw that wore a swimming cap, until I was much older and saw people wear them on TV for the Olympics! She was a good swimmer and enjoyed cooling off in the lake on hot summer days.

* Once I went by myself to church with Grandma when I was probably five or six and she was so proud to show me off to all her church friends. She introduced me to every person that passed us!

* One time we took a trip to visit my Aunt and Uncle that lived in Nebraska to see their new baby. I remember Grandma driving for part of the trip and as she drove she sang "Jesus Loves Me" over and over again. She knew every verse and by the end of the trip we all did too! She put a lot of faith into God and if you ever looked at her Bible, you will see that almost every page had writings, highlights, underlinings, and other important messages that she never wanted to forget. I would like to know how many times she read that Bible from beginning to end.

* She once took me by myself to the cemetery with her to visit my grandpa's grave site. She told me she missed him very much and couldn't wait to be with him as she showed me where she was going to be laid when she passed away, right next to Grandpa. I was young, but I remember her crying and I also remember telling her that if she was with him, then we would miss her too much. She explained to me that we will all be together one day and her place is with Grandpa. The love she had for him was very strong! As hard as it is to let her go today, I know everyone is thinking that she is finally where she has wanted to be for so long. . . Next to Grandpa!

We love you Grandma and know you are giving Grandpa a big hug right now! We are glad you are finally at peace.