My Loving Grandmother

The news stung. I believed that two years of mourning the loss of her personality would spare me the grief of losing her life. I was wrong. Through God's grace, my sadness is overpowered by the joyful realization that our separation is only temporary. But it still hurts.

Memories of days spent at Grandmother and Granddaddy's house replay in my mind. I see loving faces, I hear laughter and loud talking, I smell basted turkey roasting in the oven, I taste delectable pies and tangy lemon drops, and I feel warm hugs and soft kisses. Whether it was the holidays, making apricot preserves, snapping freshly picked peas, or just my turn to spend the night, I am wrapped up in warm memories of two beautiful people who lavished me with love.

Grandmother encouraged me with words of love and praise. During some of my less secure years, she made me feel beautiful. Her kindness lifted me up. Grandmother told us many times how proud she was of her "chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry" granddaughters. Grandmother made me believe in true love. She told me many times that God had blessed her with two wonderful husbands that she loved deeply. Her deep, intense mourning at the loss of Granddaddy bore witness to this passionate love.

One precious memory of Grandmother involved a curious little girl eyeing a beautiful hot pepper growing in the garden. I asked Daddy what it was and he encouraged me to try a bite (I still remember paying no head to that mischievous smile). I bit into that glossy red fruit and was soon wailing, my mouth on fire. You should have seen Grandmother. She simultaneously let Dad have her fury while whisking me to the bathroom to squelch my burning mouth. Nobody could mess with her grandbabies, not even her loving son! That was Grandmother, loving and gentle, yet equally passionate and strong.

Here are a few pictures of my grandmother:











Mom returned to me a Christmas card that I made for Grandmother when I was a child. I composed a little rhyme for her. While simple and far from literary genius, the words still ring true.

"To my grandma I'd love to say,
I love you much in every way."

I really do.