Four years ago today my Grandma (on my Mom's side) passed away. One year ago on October 17th my Grandad (again on my Mom's side) passed away. I lost my Grandma on my Dad's side when I was about 9-years-old and my Grandad when I was 19-years-old.
With each of their passing’s I felt a little piece of me disappear. Why? I had AWESOME grandparents! Not in the "buy us whatever we wanted" kind of way, but they genuinely loved their grandkids and enjoyed having us around. They were never too busy for us and we always looked forward to seeing them with a great deal of excitement.
My Dad’s parents were a neat duo. My Granddad was in the banking business and my Grandma was a schoolteacher. When they were in their late 30s (maybe early 40s, I’m estimating) they opened their hearts and their home and adopted my dad and his younger sister. They lived in a very 1950’s style home that was pink. PINK!!! Not hot pink or Pepto pink, a light soft pink with white trim. It was groovy…enough said. They were both raised in the country and came from large families. My Grandma could sew, quilt, crochet and can/pickle just about anything you could think of. She was a skillful card player (and apparently very competitive with her friends) and taught us kids more card games then I could ever remember. My Granddad was more in the background but I remember he always like to sit on the floor, which as a kid made you feel more relaxed and at ease talking to him. He was funny and goofy…and so is his son (my Dad). They both enjoyed traveling around in their RV and they had the picture slides to prove it!
My Mom’s parents married young and did the craziest thing…they had FIVE daughters…and lived in a one-bathroom house. It was the beautiful, two-story craftsmen-style house with a huge yard, including a hill for rolling down. My Granddad kept a very extensive garden for many, many years. He grew a variety of things but my favorites were his tomatoes and to this day, all tomatoes just pale in comparison. Yes, they were that good! He also had a never-ending battle with the squirrels that lived in the walnut trees in their yard, but that’s a whole other post entirely. My Grandma was a nifty lady. After raising five daughters (a task that in my opinion should have completely robbed her of all her sanity) she went on travel extensively, including many countries in Europe. She also was the queen of mailing cards. She never forgot a graduation, an anniversary, a birth, etc. She hit them all. She was an expert at picking out the cheesy/funny cards. When I got into my tween/teen years the highlight of my summer was getting to go stay for two weeks with them. It was nice just “hanging out” with her and visiting. She was always interested in what us kids were up to and made us feel so at home.
I could go on and on and on…and on and on and on about my grandparents. I have so many wonderful memories of them, as do all my siblings. They were all so kind, giving, loving and compassionate. I miss them all dearly. A little piece of me disappeared with each of them but I know that piece is not gone forever. (Isa. 65: 17-23, Isa. 25:8, Rev. 21:3, 4) My heart just bubbles over with excitement when I think about a time in the future when I will get to see them all again, and they will get to see their great grandkids again or in my Dad’s parent's case, for the first time!
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