Soryda's previous post was awesome to read. I am so glad that she got to meet and get to know my grandma. She was someone who you meet only once in a lifetime, and I was glad that I could share her with my wife and my two boys.
As Soryda mentioned, my grandma is survived by all of her children (5) and their spouses (5), and all of her grandchildren (11) and their spouses (11). As would be expected, all of her children and spouses were there, but also all of us grandchildren made the trip to Minnesota to be at my grandma's wake and funeral. The pastor who gave the eulogy mentioned several times how extraordinary it was to have all of the grandchildren at the funeral, and what a testament it was to the life my grandmother lived. And how true it is.
My grandma was the quintessential grandmother - if I looked the word up in a dictionary, I would expect to see her picture. She was always so excited to see us when we visited. She would say "There's my Patrick" and give me a big hug and a kiss, and always let me know how glad she was to see me. Even though she did that to everyone, I still felt loved like I was the only one visiting.
Of course, like any good grandma, she made the best food. In Minnesota, it's all about casseroles, and my grandma made the best. The day we arrived she would have a fantastic 5-bean casserole ready for us, and it always tasted great. She would make Pink Fluff, a kind of jello mixture that tasted like dessert, but she served as a salad. We had toughies (donuts without the holes), chocolate donuts, jellies, jams, and just about every other treat you can imagine. But probably the best was the chocolate milk she bought for us. The day we arrived, she would buy chocolate milk in a bag at the Kwick Trip, and we would put it on our cereal using a cow-shaped pitcher. We never got that at home! In the evening after the funeral, we stopped by the store, bought a bag of chocolate milk, and drank a toast to my grandma.
But the best thing that she gave me was a legacy of a strong faith and trust in Jesus Christ. She was able to love and give so much because she knew that she was loved by the Father, and that he had given his only son so she could live in eternity with him. That faith and trust was never more apparent than when she would write cards and notes for special occasions (graduations, baptisms, marriages) The words she used always encouraged and strengthened me, and pointed me back to the love and grace of our Father in Heaven. I will miss these the most.
I could keep writing, but if you never met her, words would fail to fully describe her and what she meant to our family. I will miss her, but I am comforted by the knowledge that I will see her again in eternity. Several times she told me about the first time she and my grandfather visited, after I could walk and talk. They were discussing whether I would recognize or remember her. Apparently, I was standing on the stairs outside the apartment when they came up. When I saw her, I started jumping up and down and shouting "Grandma's here! Grandma's here!" She said every time how much that meant to her. I am going to miss her a lot, but I know that when I get to heaven, and I see her there, I am going to be so excited, I am going to once again jump up and down and shout "Grandma's here! Grandma's here!"
"We do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. We will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words."
- Paul to us through the Thessalonians
As Soryda mentioned, my grandma is survived by all of her children (5) and their spouses (5), and all of her grandchildren (11) and their spouses (11). As would be expected, all of her children and spouses were there, but also all of us grandchildren made the trip to Minnesota to be at my grandma's wake and funeral. The pastor who gave the eulogy mentioned several times how extraordinary it was to have all of the grandchildren at the funeral, and what a testament it was to the life my grandmother lived. And how true it is.
My grandma was the quintessential grandmother - if I looked the word up in a dictionary, I would expect to see her picture. She was always so excited to see us when we visited. She would say "There's my Patrick" and give me a big hug and a kiss, and always let me know how glad she was to see me. Even though she did that to everyone, I still felt loved like I was the only one visiting.
Of course, like any good grandma, she made the best food. In Minnesota, it's all about casseroles, and my grandma made the best. The day we arrived she would have a fantastic 5-bean casserole ready for us, and it always tasted great. She would make Pink Fluff, a kind of jello mixture that tasted like dessert, but she served as a salad. We had toughies (donuts without the holes), chocolate donuts, jellies, jams, and just about every other treat you can imagine. But probably the best was the chocolate milk she bought for us. The day we arrived, she would buy chocolate milk in a bag at the Kwick Trip, and we would put it on our cereal using a cow-shaped pitcher. We never got that at home! In the evening after the funeral, we stopped by the store, bought a bag of chocolate milk, and drank a toast to my grandma.
But the best thing that she gave me was a legacy of a strong faith and trust in Jesus Christ. She was able to love and give so much because she knew that she was loved by the Father, and that he had given his only son so she could live in eternity with him. That faith and trust was never more apparent than when she would write cards and notes for special occasions (graduations, baptisms, marriages) The words she used always encouraged and strengthened me, and pointed me back to the love and grace of our Father in Heaven. I will miss these the most.
I could keep writing, but if you never met her, words would fail to fully describe her and what she meant to our family. I will miss her, but I am comforted by the knowledge that I will see her again in eternity. Several times she told me about the first time she and my grandfather visited, after I could walk and talk. They were discussing whether I would recognize or remember her. Apparently, I was standing on the stairs outside the apartment when they came up. When I saw her, I started jumping up and down and shouting "Grandma's here! Grandma's here!" She said every time how much that meant to her. I am going to miss her a lot, but I know that when I get to heaven, and I see her there, I am going to be so excited, I am going to once again jump up and down and shout "Grandma's here! Grandma's here!"
"We do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. We will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words."
4 comments:
Patrick,
We are sorry to hear about your grandma's passing and are grateful for your sharing memories of her with us. We rejoice with you in knowing that you will see her again one day.
Adrienne & Kevin
Tears stream from my cheeks as I read your journal entry and think about how right you are. We were lucky to have such a strong and faithful grandmother to teach us so many things. Although the emptiness of her loss overwhelms me, I too am thankful she's in God's arms. One of my best memories is throwing toys down her laundry shoot and running to the basement to find them. The more I think about the memories the more I appreciate how blessed we are to have such a wonderful family. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Pat, I only knew Grandma for a short time; however, in the small amount of time that I knew her I witnessed much of what you wrote about. A person only had to come into contact once with Grandma Marion to know that she was a person of character and that she trusted God. Thanks for sharing your feelings about her, Eric
I found your post while looking up the key words "the quintessential grandmother." I know it was a long time ago that you wrote this, but felt the urge to reach out and thank you. I too have fond memories of my own grandmother(s). I a mom of six, three girls and three boys. Life has been wonderful for me, as it seems to have been for you, because of family! My family is the most important thing to me; my greatest treasure. Sometimes when I look around at the world and see how families are starting to unravel I get a little discouraged about the future of our country. But I was just so touched and inspired reading this and realizing that there are a lot of strong families out there. It gives me hope knowing that the legacy of strong families is being passed down. I know i am a complete stranger to you, but just wanted you to know that I believe the same as you, that one day we can all be together in families in heaven. Sincerely, Lorene Williams
(I don't have a current blog, but I am on facebook as Lorene Brown Williams....)
Post a Comment