Lots of Memories, One Special Lady

I'm trying something new.  I've recently enjoyed reading a new blog, Daily Coping Skills where I regularly find good laughs and good ideas.  (Thanks, Susan!)  Every Friday (or whenever I get around to catching up on blogs again) I've enjoyed a weekly meme called Feel Good Friday in which she participates, so I'm going to try it out, too.  But I make no weekly promises.

Here's my first attempt:

For about 27 years I had the wonderful blessing of making memory after memory with an amazing woman.  Some people called her a firecracker, some people called her Mary, some people called her Red but to me she is Grandma.  Every idea I have what a grandma should be comes from who my grandma is.  And I use incorrect grammar here and change my verb usage on purpose because she still is Grandma, only better because now she's perfect in her heavenly home.

Not that I remember this, of course, but my grandma was there for my birth.  The nurses had to show me to her right away when they found out my red hair came from her.  And the rest is history...

Even though she and Grandpa lived about 11 hours away in southern Illinois, I was blessed to be able to spend a chunk of my summers with them, sometimes by myself but often with my 3 cousins.  Several Christmases my parents and I drove out for a week or so.  And then my senior year of high school she and Grandpa moved to NC and lived with us for about 6 months before moving less than a mile down the road.  So trying to pick one memory that makes me smile is difficult, like eating only 1 chocolate chip cookie or only 1 fresh from the garden strawberry, nearly impossible!

When they lived on the farm in Illinois, we spent many hours in their garden planting, pulling or picking.  Then we would spend many hours snapping, peeling, chopping, canning.  Whether we were inside or outside, it was always hot work, but it was good because we all did it together.

that's my grandpa on the "truck" (as Isaiah would say); he's pretty grand, too!

I remember one time after Grandma and Grandpa moved to NC, I walked into their living room to a very familiar site:  Grandma was curled up in her recliner with her Bible on her lap and her pencil in her hand.  She was reading about her favorite person in the Bible (other than Jesus or God, or course).  She had a question for me:


How come it says that Moses saw God's face, but it also says that no man can see God's face and live?  Answer me that?!  And don't you think Moses got a raw deal after dealing with those Israelites and not getting to go to the promised land after one thing that he didn't do just right?


I can't tell you how many times we had this discussion, but I never got tired of it.  Grandma was quite passionate about Moses.  And every time I read about Moses, I always think of my grandma.  She always used to say that she couldn't wait to talk to Moses in heaven, but I'm guessing she might have been a little distracted by her Lord and Savior!

So thinking about my grandma makes me smile, for so many reasons.

Want to join the fun, too?  Pick a prompt from The Girl Next Door Grows Up and see what happens.