How do I start? I am beside myself with admiration for this lady. This is my grandma. My dad's mom. The second oldest of 12. The one who does for others before thinking of herself. See her beautiful blue eyes? They are always twinkling--with stories, advice, love. I want to be this beautiful at 81.
If my memory serves me, she and my grandfather almost hit 60 years of marriage before his passing in January 2006. The product of this marriage were five children, in a small town in central Wisconsin.
Grandma grew up on a dairy farm--it was not an easy life. Being the oldest girl of twelve, you can imagine she had a hand in raising her siblings as well as taking care of farm chores. There is a varied and interesting story involving her parents, but maybe I'll address that in a different post. For now, I speak of her in the hopes that you would extend prayers for her. She has and is having several mini-strokes right now. Ones that affect her short-term memory. I just have to remind her on the phone that we already talked about such-and-such.
She is rich with stories about the past, and has even written a book of short stories about her life, and of raising her own children. I only hope to be like this--taking advantage of what I have left. Not complaining, not fretting. She has never been negative. Oh, Lord, help me to be like her. Until then, I'm looking forward to our annual visit where we take her to see the turning of leaves in Sept.
