Remembering My Grandmother

Today, I’m missing and remembering my grandmother, who died 15 years ago. What an amazing, strong and independent woman she was! She was a trailblazer, braving the “big city” of Chicago at 18 to go to nursing school. She raised a family during the turbulent ’60s. And she got to spend her retirement years with her soulmate, where they got to celebrate more than 50 years of marriage together.

I’ve always looked up to her and cherished our time together, whether it was spent telling stories, musing on our favorite foods or playing games — her favorites were Monopoly and Scrabble. I’ve written about her influence on my life and the wonder and magic of those family almond cookies, but I wanted to take some time today to appreciate her. For everything she was. Because she gave so much to the world, in such an unassuming way. She didn’t do it for the praise or recognition. And she certainly didn’t do it because she wanted to be the center of attention — ask anyone in our family and they’ll tell you that she was a pretty solid introvert. Everything she did, she did because she wanted to help people, to love people and to make the world a better place. I’d definitely say she succeeded and probably even in some ways she never even expected.

Grandmothers sure are special people, aren’t they? Go give yours a super big hug today and thank them for everything they’ve done. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it, friends! xoxo