The Magic of Grandparents (Pt. 2)

from the mom

Today is my Grandma's (dad's mom) birthday. She is turning 87 which sounds much older than she seems. She is the quietest of all my grandparents, the one you coax the stories from.

Though she is quiet, Grandma is the grandparent who has taught me the most "life-lessons." She is never pushy but she will gently make a suggestion here and there, in a way that makes you appreciate her advice.

At some point in my childhood, she told me (probably upon entering my disaster of a room) that it is easier to put something away after you are through with it than to try to clean up later when everything is out of its place. If only I could get this across to my children and husband, my life would be so much easier. But ever since then, I've done a little better and she is right.

The value she placed on education and children have impacted me richly. I deeply desired both from the time I was a little girl and can credit some of the happiness they've brought me to my grandparents who taught me to pursue them.

My grandma is a lady. For as long as I can remember she has had simple self-manicured nails. I think her hands are beautiful and are a reflection of who she is as a person. She does everything with a gracefulness that I can't even begin to attain.

She is a tough lady. She had four difficult pregnancies, some pretty challenging babies, and her husband was away (work and World War II) for a lot of it. My grandpa had some health issues from a young age and she faced his death many times before she faced it for the last time in November 2005. Since then she has lived life with grace even as she lives with a new loneliness that only a widow can know.

My grandparents had a good marriage. A really good one. Maybe I've romanticized it a little too much, but I don't think so. My grandparents spoke ill of no one, least of all each other. I have always assumed that if I treated my husband the way Grandma treated Grandpa, I couldn't go wrong. And it seems to be working very well.

As a child I knew my grandparents were in my corner, encouraging and praying for me to succeed in life, to be happy, to find the things that matter. They were there for the important milestones: graduations, baptism, my wedding. Now as a new wife and mother I've looked to Grandma when things are difficult. A simple word of understanding from her has helped me with a baby who won't sleep, sick kids, and a tiredness that never really goes away.

I feel blessed today that my grandma is still a guiding force in my life and that my children can know her. They may not know about her wisdom yet, but they know about her love. And because she is always up for learning new things and has mastered email and now reads my blog, I know she is reading this.

So I love you Grandma! Have a Happy Birthday and I'll see you very soon.