This post first appeared on one of my retired blogs on September 9, 2008
My grandparents played a very large part in my life from a very early age. With my older brother being sick with a rare kidney disease that caused him to be in and out of Riley Children’s Hospital frequently, I stayed with my grandparents quite often.
Some of my earliest memories were those of my grandma letting me drink coffee in the mornings with her and my grandpa. That cup, although, an icky brown and pure plastic is one of my most valuable possessions today.
My grandmother taught me so many things while growing up – from sewing to cooking, there’s a touch of her in everything I do to this very day.
To me, my grandma was one of the worlds most beautiful woman, even when her hair went silver, it was the most beautiful silver I’d ever seen. I always wanted to be so much like my grandma, everyone seemed to like her and she ran into people she knew everywhere she went. I used to think she knew everyone in the world. It was possible, because she was the world to me.
When I found out I was having twins, my grandma and grandpa were the first ones I told – even before the boys father. You see, my grandma had a set of twins too so I knew she would be the most pleased at the news I had to share.
Occasionally I will cross paths with a woman who wears my grandma’s favorite cologne, Jovan Musk and be reminded of the security and love that sent brought with it when I was so little.
It’s been two years since my grandma passed away and there’s not a day that passes I don’t think about her. Whether it’s being reminded of the little tokens she gave me to surround myself with, cooking up something she used to make or gazing at my favorite picture of she and my grandpa when they were newlyweds – my grandma is with me, in some way, every single day.
I was fortunate to get to spend so much time with my grandparents while having the misfortune of having a sibling so ill. Not everyone get’s the chance to know their family quite the way I did and for that I will always be eternally grateful.
One of the greatest gifts my grandma gave me was my faith in God and the memories of old fashioned, Southern Baptist tent revivals with classic hymns unlike anything you hear these days. In fact, I still have the fan grandma got at one of those revivals. Sometimes when I need her most, I pick it up and fan my face just to feel her near.
