Grandma

My Grandma passed away two weeks ago. She passed away at home, overlooking Rainy Lake with some of my family close by caring for her. Last weekend we up north to remember her and celebrate the amazing life she led. I was lucky to share some thoughts about her during the service and will share that with you now:

"My Grandma was a mother of 6 children, 13 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren, along with countless other neighborhood children, and she made us all feel special.

Growing up, I was the youngest in the first handful of grandkids - my wild older cousins Frank, Bobby and Jason and my older sister, Kindi. We would go to Grandma's house weekend mornings to find her making her buttermilk pancakes and those wild 3 boys already sitting at the table 'calling' the next pancake from the griddle as theirs. Even though I was hungry, I wouldn't care about trying to get my name on one of the pancakes because Grandma always had something special just for me...in the lazy susan of her kitchen was a tin full of saltine crackers, just for me.

A few months ago, a friend of mine was describing my family to a woman at my sons' school. The woman asked "Oh, is that the family that smiles all the time?" My friend said "Yes! That is them!" Through my life I've often been called 'smiley' and asked why I smile so much. I never really thought much about it until recently as I watched my Grandma go through this terrible disease, ALS. I started to notice that through all the pain and discomfort, there was always a smile. Eventually, as she lost her ability to speak, there was still that smile. Sometimes, it overtook her and I could only see that beautiful smile.

Now that she is gone, I am so thankful for the smile she gave me and taught me to share with the world."