As I sit in sadness and miss my grandma, I also smile as I remember her.Growing up, my family and I, always lived close to my grandparents. My parents first house was right by my moms parents. When my grandparents moved, we weren't long to follow and my dad bought land off them and we were neighbors again and still are. I moved away from home shortly after graduating high school but oh the memories and joy of having my grandparents close.
I can remember sled riding with my grandma and as we were coming down the hill we took a turn and headed for the barbed wire fence. She pushed me off and she went sliding (what seemed like) face first into the wire. She was my hero :)
Another memory I have of my grandma is her driving me home one night. And by that, I mean down her driveway and into ours. (A quick background story, my mom was raised Amish, left the church and awhile after my grandparents did too and are Mennonite. At the time, I was younger and apparently hadn't seen my grandma drive much.) So, as she was driving me down to our house I decided that now would be a good time to ask if she knew how to drive. :) She said she did, but as we came to our house and got closer and closer to the garage door she yells "which ones the brake!" I of course freak out and yell "the one on the left!" as she smiles and chuckles in the drivers seat. I can't help but laugh every time I think of this moment! She was such a silly, fun, loving grandma!
Another memory I have of her is playing kick the can in my parents yard. I still feel like I can see her running, dress and all, to the can and yelling "kick the can!" After having 8 kids of her own, she still made some time to play with us.She was a great and wonderful grandma but more importantly, she became my best friend. It seems that once you become an adult yourself you truly understand the importance of knowledge from another, slightly older adult. :) When I got married, I can remember my grandma talking to me about my wedding night. I can't remember her exact words but I can remember her humor and my red cheeks. It was funny coming from her.
When we had our first child, she came to my house to see him. I will forever cherish the moments my grandma (now called Gigi = Great grandma) had with Nolan.
I loved how her and I would joke around and be silly together. The last few years it was hard for her to get her around and so I few months ago I went to visit her and decided it was time to rearrange her furniture. I thought she would like it better if we put her by the window. So part of our joke was that she had to help. She had to move her own chair, one that took two people to move. Just silly stuff like that. We had fun together!
When my husband and I got pregnant with our first, she was the first person I called. When we lost our first, she was one of the first people I called. When we were pregnant again with Nolan, she was the first person I called! When we wanted to try again for a second, I called her again and her only. Then when we couldn't get pregnant and also found out we didn't have maternity coverage, I called her again. She was always the one I wanted to call. Hers was the sweet encouraging voice I needed and wanted to hear.
My grandma was one tough cookie! She raised 8 kids and was an amazing grandma and great grandma! I couldn't have asked for a more amazing grandma!
I will forever be grateful for her and all she taught me. My heart aches as I long to hear her voice again and she her smile. I am rejoicing as well, knowing that she is no longer in pain but she is in the arms of our loving Savior!
When she was in the hospital, and able to speak, she would tell us "I want to go fly with Jesus." Now she is Flying in Heaven with Jesus and I know one day I will see her again! One day I will get to fly with her too.
I LOVE YOU GIGI AND I MISS YOU VERY MUCH.
