Mother's Day & memories of Grandma

I had a wonderful Mother's Day! I spent time with my wonderful kiddos {& their Dad}, my mom and my mom's mom too {so many great women} along with my cousin, my brother and his family and my grandma's sister. Jacob, Rebekah & Lydia played the prelude for church {LJ played the piano, Jacob played the recorder while my grandma accompanied him on the piano and then played a number on the piano too and Rebekah played 3 numbers on the piano, one of which was a duet with my grandma}. We went for a delightful hike in the woods in the evening. I ran a few errands with Rebekah, the kids played well together and had fun outside. The food was yummy. I got an almond latte while still in bed to start my day . . . and drank it while finishing up a good book, still in my bed. It was a great day . . . except for the fact that I had to spend part of it getting things in order to go to the funeral of my other grandma.

I never thought when I wrote on her Mother's Day card last week and stuck it in the mail that she wouldn't be alive on Mother's Day. The thought never even entered my mind! Thankfully, I mailed it early {it had some fun, recent pictures in it too} and she got it on the day that she died . . . I'm so glad that I mailed it early! In my mind, I see her getting the mail {but probably my uncle Gregg got it for her . . . thanks, Gregg} and looking at the pictures and thinking of us that day as she laid down to take a nap.

Anna & I leave bright and early on Friday. We'll be in Connecticut by lunch time and will spend Friday getting stuff ready and doing whatever needs to be done. The funeral is at 11 on Saturday morning. Then we'll fly back home and arrive about bedtime around here on Sunday night.

I was given an assignment from the pastor who is doing the service {we all were given this assignment, not just me}. We were supposed to think of a memory of Grandmas and something that we will miss about her.

I asked Jacob and he said his memory of his great-grandma was when he played the piano at her house for her when he was in Connecticut with me for my grandpa's funeral in 2007. I'm sad to say that I didn't even remember that he played the piano there that day until he said that.

I am trying to decided which little snipit of memory to pass along to him: I have a vivid memory of riding in the back seat of a car to church on a Sunday morning with my grandma on one of our visits to Connecticut when I was a child. I don't remember how old I was, but I imagine I was about the age that my girls {the older 2, that is} are now. I remember playing with my grandma's hair. I remember feeling the hairspray in it. I remember snuggling up to her and playing with her hair all the way to church. If you know my grandma at all, you know that she took much care with her appearance {it doesn't seem I inherited that particular trait from her} and always looked great . . . great outfits, beautiful jewelry, makeup and hair all perfectly in place. I'm sure that day that I made a mess of her perfectly coiffed hair, but I don't remember her complaining or asking me to stop. I'm sure she headed straight to the bathroom when we got to church to try and repair the damage I'd done, but she didn't let on {that I remember, anyway}, she just let me play with her hair all the way to church! That's a grandma for you!

I will always remember that my grandma had to have the exact, precisely specific card for whatever the occasion was . . . "To my granddaughter and her husband as they celebrate their 8th anniversary" . . . you get the idea. {That's one I didn't inherit either, I prefer that the card itself be rather general and then specify it through what I write inside.} But not Grandma. I don't know where she found cards that specific, but no matter what the occasion she always found the perfect card and signed it with that handwriting that will always stay in my mind. And yet, she bought a few cards from me the past few years . . . now that's love, since the cards I make are probably the least specific cards around and probably not quite her style.

Plus, I'll never forget the fact that, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get Rebekah's name right. She always calls her Rachel. It started from the very beginning, as soon as she was born and continued from there. She would ask me about the kids when we'd talk on the phone . . . "How are Jacob and Rachel?" Sometimes I would correct her and sometimes I wouldn't. I know that she knew Rebekah's name, I just came out as Rachel a lot of the time!

I will miss the way she smelled. It was so "grandma" and it was always the same. Grandma always smelled good . . . she smelled like grandma!