My Grandma

This past Friday my last living grandparent passed away. My sweet Grandma Catie lived a good, long life and was ready to leave the earth. I grew up in the city my Grandma lived in, so I knew her fairly well. Hubby asked me if I was sad about her dying and I concluded that I'm a bit sad that I won't see her again during my mortal life, but I am ultimately happy that she has completed her work on the earth and is getting some well-earned rest now.

I can happily report that I have only good memories of my Grandma. She always had a candy dish out when we came to visit, and we almost never went home empty-handed. In her backyard was a HUGE lilac bush. Ahh, the smell of her yard when the lilacs were in bloom was heavenly. When I was younger, she would gather her granddaughters together at Christmas to make doughnuts. Yum yum! We would stop by her house on Halloween and she had some cupcakes waiting for us. As she got older and me a little less self-centered, we drove to a nearby nursery to pick out plants for her pots, and I helped her plant them. Oh! And she had a great little table in her living room that opened up in an unusual way where we could always find some puzzling blocks, barrel of monkeys, a slinky, and other fun toys. I recall being slightly scared of her downstairs: it was kind of dark and creepy to me.

Grandma was also supportive of her grand-children's pursuits and interests. We always got a birthday card and/or gift, but more importantly, I remember she came to many of my ballet performances and other extracurricular activities.

I love my Grandma and am grateful to her for her example of loving kindness, her mild way.

Watching the bald eagles at Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Little S and Grandma getting acquainted.

This is the last time I saw my Grandma, over Christmas break.  She was a bit hard to understand when she spoke, but we had a good visit.  She kept saying to Little S, "I like you."  :)