My Grandma

February 24, 2012 my Grandma Cleone went home to be with Jesus. She was tired and so ready to have a break, so I am happy for her. But I miss her.Miss her insight into teaching my children, planting a garden, sewing, cooking, all the different things that Grandma had done and was interested in hearing about me doing. Miss that connection to a  place in my history. Hearing her voice. Miss all of her little idiosyncrasies that made her my Grandma.

When I was little I always wanted to sit next to Grandma in the evenings or at church so she could rub her fingers on my hands and arms. She had very soft, warm, round fingers that she would slowly swirl and  curve around on my skin, it was so relaxing.

Growing up Grandma always sent a box at our birthdays and at Christmas time. They were very anticipated events and a lot of fun to open. We could count on a box of whoppers, usually something to wear, something fun and on our birthdays there was always a cake mix with a fun flavor to bake and frosting. For our family who always did things from scratch it was fun to have the crumbling box cakes.

Grandma had a unique way of saying hello when she answered the telephone that was more of a 'yallow', she had a lovely alto voice when she sang. I enjoyed hearing her play the piano for church, it was a heavy chording style that was hers. Listening to her read stories was always fun. At the bottom of this post of my sister's there is a video clip of Grandma reading in 2008 if you would care to hear her read.

Saturday mornings was Grandma's day to call us. When we were little we each took a turn talking to her, gradually that faded away. Then in her older years I tried to call her regularly. Each conversation she would make sure I was still home schooling my children and let me know just how important that was, check on Travis and if he still liked driving trains and she always wanted to hear how church was going. If we had  had a VBS that summer, how that went or other seasonal items. Almost any time of the year she also checked on my garden in some way. How it had produced, had I started planting it, did it grow well, if I was able to can anything from it.

Grandma usually made it up a couple times a summer to visit us in northern MN from southern Iowa. She didn't ever want to get caught in bad weather. But she often timed her visits it seems when there was butchering to be done. A part of life that I may have tried to avoid but she knew how to be a help and wanted to help. 

Grandma really liked to craft; sewing, crocheting, ceramics and lots of other enterprises she liked to try them all. When she would come for a visit she often brought a project for us to do with her. We painted lots of lovely figurines, hers always turned out so much nicer looking than mine. She tried to teach each of us how to crochet. It worked well with Peter and Abbi, me not so much, I never developed an even stitch. 

One time when my mom gave Grandma a perm to give her the wave she liked to have, it washed out her hair dye that she had in to give her a salt and pepper gray look that she had all of my younger days. I couldn't believe she would cover up a most beautiful head of snow white hair with dye. It shook Grandma up a bit to have us all see her white hair since she was a very private person. The gray promptly returned for a few more years but gradually she let it go to white. I didn't understand then just how hard change is. Our comfort zone is a very comfortable place indeed.

Some smells make me think of places or people. Cutting open a grapefruit often makes me think of breakfast at grandma's. She set the halved grapefruit into individual bowls and then she had special grapefruit spoons to dig out the flesh.

When I was in college in Ottumwa, Iowa I was near enough to spend the Saturdays I didn't work visiting or shopping with Grandma. We liked to go down to an outlet mall and browse the stores, we rarely stayed together, but we were together and we always ate lunch at Arby's. A few times we went to the Amanna colonies to a sweater factory store where she liked to get her button-up sweaters. She almost always had a sweater with her to ward off cool breezes.

Most all of the Sundays I was at college the afternoons were spent at her house, she made Peter and I and usually a few friends dinner every week after church.

Grandma wasn't a very cuddly person, we didn't get too many hugs and kisses from her, but yet she showed us love in so many ways. I am very grateful to have had her, and to have all the memories I do. So many more than I can tell. It has been emotional thinking about her this evening, but also rather fun. I do hope you have a Grandma you can reminisce about as well.  

Blessings,

~Anna