Long Gone But Never Forgotten

Since this blog is primarily for my loved ones, I want to honor a request to throw in some family history so that future generations would know some of their heritage. This is a good place to start.

Red and yellow checked outfit she made

I loved my grandma - GramFella I called her because I couldn't say Grandma Longfellow. I never tired of staying with her and would beg my mother to let me go there when she had to be gone.  GramFella was a Dutch English woman who survived incredibly hard times; she was a story teller, a tea drinker and lover of the Bible.  When she was in her 20's she was a nanny for a family with five children. I don't recall if they were a military family; but they traveled a lot so, of course, she traveled as well.
 

Her bed seemed sky high to a little person of four or five years of age. When it came time for sleeping, she would pick me up and put me between her and the wall so I didn't fall out. (Maybe it really was high after all.) She would tell me stories of her nanny adventures, but I always fell asleep before she finished. At breakfast the next morning, she would finish the story while we sipped sweet hot tea with warm bread and 'real' butter - wow!  Because I was her 'important guest' I would get to use one of her special English teacups and saucers. I don't recall ever breaking one but if I had, I would have been very sad. But she would have said, "It's okay.  Little girls are far more important than a teacup."

I was in the 6th grade when she died. The news came in an early morning phone call. From my room I could hear my mother talking in hushed tones and I dreaded what it might be about.  Grandma was gone. No, no, no! She was my best friend - I was safe and happy with her. We drew pictures together and read stories together and snuggled together under a blanket as we listened to the radio. She brushed my blonde curls and patted my cheeks and hands. How would I manage without her? I felt like a part of me died right along with her.  It was years later when I was having a really bad 'I want my grandma' day that I penned this little piece as though it were the day she died. I printed it in column style on cardstock and have used it as a bookmark ever since.

"I will miss her terribly, this lady of strength and wisdom; this person who has made such an impact on my life; this grandma of mine.  There is no one who hugs like a grandma; no one whose hands can be so wrinkled and yet so soft; no one who makes cookies that taste quite like hers. Only a grandma can ask how you are and really want to know; only a grandma can give you that special wink when she knows you've gotten yourself into trouble (again).  Only a grandma can share her life in a way that makes pain seem like a good thing. And when God decides it's time for her to come home, there is no one who can fill the giant void in the heart where only she lived. It doesn't matter that she's been ill for a long time; it doesn't matter that it was 'expected'...it doesn't matter that she went peacefully in her sleep. What matters is that she is gone and I miss her terribly."

Those of you who had or have a grandma like this are richly blessed. May I encourage you to cherish the memories, share the blessings and pass on her legacy.

Blessings,
Rosi