Grandma

It has been quite a while since I have last posted.  Life got super busy and many things went by the wayside.  I have been meaning to write about my Grandma for quite sometime.  Rich, my husband, has told me many times when I tell him a story about her that I should be recording this somewhere for a time when I don't remember or am gone.  What better place than here?  Her memory will be preserved on the internet forever!  :o)

Not that I don't think of her often (every day it seems like), but I think of her more often during the spring and summer when my fondest memories of her take place.  She left us almost 3 yrs ago but not without leaving us her legacy.  I will try to write about her more often this month especially since it will be a tribute to her during the month of her death and the month of her birthday.

This story takes me back to the first anniversary of her death.  My Grandma was always outside working in her yard.  Growing things, sweeping up lawn clippings, and just tooling around.  She would always tell us that when we see a robin for the first time after winter, then it was officially spring.  So, a year after her death, I am in my front yard mowing the lawn, thinking about her, and am treated to the red-bellied bird for a half hour flitting about in the yard.  She would move a little with each pass, but always remained within 5 feet of me.  I knew that Grandma around in spirit!  This story fast forwards 2 more years to 10 days ago when I was again mowing the lawn.  I was in the back yard mowing along, and again I am visited by the lovely robin!  She stayed with me for an hour this time (it takes that long to mow the back)!  She flitted about staying out of reach, but never farther than 5 feet away.  It brought a warm feeling of knowing that Grandma was near.  Tonight, I was hurriedly mowing the lawn again (I know.....it seems like the mowing never ends!).  Natalie and Olivia were playing in the yard, and I was just in the zone walking back and forth trying to get the grass cut before the rain came down.  All of a sudden, I look down, and there are some sort of red balls in the grass.  I was puzzled as I had never seen anything in the grass like that before.  (I have a black thumb......)  So, I stopped the mower, stooped down, and to my surprise, they were strawberries!  (My Grandma ALWAYS had strawberries growing in her garden!  My sister and I would help her pick them all the time.)    I called the girls over to show them, and they said, "Mom, we KNOW!  We picked one and got the roots.  We planted it in this pot."  (duh!)  We looked at the berries for a few more minutes, and then I continued to mow.  With every row, there were MORE strawberries!  By the time I finished mowing..........we found that approximately 1/3 of our back yard is COVERED!  (I can't possibly mow now, right?  Lol!)  I am sure there is a logical reason for all of the above, but I like to think that Grandma wanted us to know she is thinking of us here.  It warmed my heart and wet my eyes, but now I have to find my thumb and "sharpie" it green!  I need to mark off at least some of the berries to form the garden we have been meaning to plant since April!

Thanks for reading!  I hope you enjoyed the first memory/story about my Grandma.  The rest will be purely memories.  I learned so much from her and miss her so much.  At least her memory will live on in me and the rest of my family.   Speaking of which......if any of my family has a memory of Grandma, please leave it in the comments.  I would love to read what meant so much to you about her!