My Dear Little Granny

This is one of my bi-monthly posts where it’s hosted by Subway and I get to talk about traditions, family, celebrations and holidays so this time I’m going to take this space and talk about my dear Little Granny.

My Little Granny died on Sunday. We all expected to attend her birthday in July, where she would turn 100 years old. The little stinker fooled us all and got outta dodge before we could honor her as a century-old woman. She was tired. She was ready to go meet her maker. I guess I can’t blame her.

One hundred years is a long time.

It was a strange way how I found out she died. See, our family is very close. I’ve always had a close relationship with my four cousins growing up, even though we lived in Florida and they were in Ohio.

We spent summers with them, and my sister and I were especially close to our cousins, Kathy and Susie. We played Charlie’s Angels together, we walked to the store to get candy together, we would go to the community pool together. We would play in their basement, singing Linda Ronstadt Blue Bayou and Steve Martin’s King Tut together. We had sleepovers and dance parties and loved our cousins like they were our sisters. These were the cousins you always hoped you had growing up.

We’re lucky enough that now that all of us have children of our own, the kids are friends now too, and even though they don’t see each other as much as I saw my cousins, they keep in touch through Facebook and texting. We got the news of my grandmother’s death through a Facebook post on Sunday that my cousin’s daughter posted.

My son was checking updates in the car on our way home from church and he said in a voice that had fear and sadness in it, and yes, disbelief, “RIP Little Granny!”

My heart sunk, yet I still didn’t believe it.

Little Granny had died and we learned about her death through a Facebook post.

I called my mom, and said, “Mom! I know!”

She thought I knew that Granny had taken a turn for the worse, not that she had died. She and my dad had not heard the news yet even. Facebook is faster than people sharing the news through the telephone these days. So I was the one who told my mom that her mother-in-law had died. My mom was in shock and had to call my dad to tell him that his mother had died.

It’s not a sad event. My grandmother lived 99 years on this earth. She watched her 14-year-old son die of polio in the ‘50s, and her husband died when he was in his eighties. She also buried another son before she passed away. Now she is living gloriously in Heaven. With all of those who went before she did.

My granny and my grandfather used to live on a lake in Ohio and some of my best memories were of us visiting them in the summer and being at their home, swimming in their lake, learning to waterski, boating, spending time with our cousins, catching fireflies, going for ice cream, sliding down the levy near the lake’s dam on cardboard – doing all the things that a kid should be doing during a summer at their grandparent’s lake home.

Through my Little Granny, she brought much tradition and joy to our family. Without her, we wouldn’t have the closeness that all our family members experience today. Every time we get together, memories are shared and there is tons of laughter.

I’m thankful to have had 42 years with my grandmother, and I’m thankful that she lived a full life and had her mind and body for much of it. She died knowing she was loved by so many of us, and she died “knowing.” That’s such a great gift right there.

She brought so much to our family and to our lives, and to not talk about her on my blog would be a huge void. So there’s my moment for my Little Granny. I’m honoring her here. I will also be honoring her at her funeral because I’ve been asked to do her eulogy. My gift to her is that I will hopefully not cry when I share the words I will write about my amazing grandmother.

Make sure to make the most of your family traditions this holiday season and remember your loved ones. Take time with your family, slow down the pace, and enjoy each other during the holidays. If you’ve got something extra special to share, go over to the Fresh Takes site and post it over there. What a cool gift to have it uploaded on the site and to be able to say to your family “Look everyone – our family is showcased here for all to see how much we love one another!”

Happy Holidays!

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