Grandma

(My Mom-Nancy, Grandma-Anna, and Sister-Luann)

Memories flood me as I ponder the passing of my Grandma. I remember cousin sleepovers at her house, especially when my cousins from Indiana would come visit.

I remember her teaching me my very favorite childhood game of "Big, Bad, Wolf" which at a later date I dislocated my jaw while playing.

I see in my mind's eye a picture that was on her refridgerator for many years that I had drawn for her as a child. She always encouraged my drawing even when I was no good and she was so naturally talented at it.

I have a crocheted quilt she gave me that I look at totally different now.

Rummikub, Scrabble, Uno, and hundreds of other games I learned while playing with her on summer visits.

I watched her do word finds and crossword puzzles that peaked my curiosity for words.

I remember my sister and I while having an extended visit trying to prevent my Grandma from watching her beloved daytime shows, because our mom had taught us they were bad and so we wanted to "save" our Grandma.

I remember a couple of times her being our caretaker when my parents went out of town, one specific time when I hid her crochet needles so that she would play with me.

There is a sharp curve on a road nearby my house with a steep embankment on the one side that I can't drive by without remembering the time I was in my Grandma's car and she underestimated the intensity of the curve only to bump us all into the embankment and bounce back onto the road with a sigh of near miss and a chuckle.

I remember that everytime we visited she would make my very favorite dessert of fruited jello and she would add whip cream to make it special.

I remember loving my Grandma, and missing her while she was still alive but limited in her mental acuity to recognize me.

And I know that I'll be with her again someday. And she will be restored again to the loving, vibrant woman who affectionately called me ketchup eyes when I cried as a small child as she lifted me in her lap to whisper that all would be okay. I will miss her in the upcoming years, and I am saddened that my kids will never really have known her, but I feel lucky to have these memories to pass along to them.