Ora Ruth Hall KirkhamDecember 7, 1920~October 2, 2010
This is a post that I've been meaning to write for a month, but I just wasn't sure what to say. Death tends to leave me at a loss for words. I don't feel like anything I say will be adequate. But I feel the need to write something in honor of my grandma. So with that... this is how I remember Grandma.
I was cooking dinner tonight and thinking about my grandma. She was an awesome cook. I have lots of lovely memories of Christmas and Thanksgivings at her house. I will miss all of her yummy food. Luckily, I've got some of her recipes that are my favorites, to treasure forever. I remember one time when I was in first grade, and my 4 siblings and I stayed with my grandparents for a few days or maybe a week, while my parents went on a much-needed vacation. I remember Grandma made us pancakes one morning for breakfast, and I ate 6 of them!
Grandma also did a lot of canning. The two things I remember the most were her peaches and her applesauce. There is no applesauce in the world to top Grandma's, and there is nothing like a bowl of cottage cheese with Grandma's peaches. At her funeral, there was a lovely display table of photos of her and her family throughout the years, as well as a few other odds and ends. One of those was a jar of peaches that she had canned on (I think) September 28th, just days before she passed. My brother commented to me that he'd really like that can of peaches all to himself, and he'd sit and cry and eat peaches and think of our grandma. I told him I felt the same way.
Before her stroke twenty years ago, she was also very crafty. She sewed and cross stitched and things like that. After the stroke she was unable to do many of the things she enjoyed, and her worsening eyesight didn't help matters. But she never seemed to feel sorry for herself, and she always stayed busy doing other things she enjoyed, like gardening and scrapbooking.
She was also very musical, but unfortunately I can't remember her playing her piano or organ for me. Maybe because us kids were always fooling around with her organ--that thing was fun! Or perhaps that is another thing she was unable to do after her stroke, I don't really know. I don't remember much before she had her stroke, because I was about 5 when it happened.
My grandma was always really good about attending graduations, piano recitals, dance recitals, and everything in between. She wasn't a woman of many words, but she showed her love and support through her actions. She was also a very selfless woman. I don't remember her ever talking about herself. She always wanted to know what we were up to, and kept us talking about our own lives. She found a lot of joy in her grandchildren.
She was also a kind and loving companion to my grandpa for (I think) almost 60 years! To think she put up with him and his silly puns for that long! ;)
I was thinking that it's kind of sad that all I have left of my grandma are memories, which fade and warp with time. But then I realized that part of my grandma lives on in ME! And not just in my DNA, but I enjoy a lot of the things my grandma did. I enjoy sewing, reading, and writing in my journal (she was a very faithful journal-keeper like her own mother), and I'm beginning to enjoy cooking again. Some things I'd like to try that she did were canning and cross stitching. I'd also like to be a better gardener. Oh, and I have an insatiable sweet tooth like she did!
I hope that my grandma knows how much I love and miss her. But I am so glad that she is no longer suffering. She endured a lot. Diabetes, skin cancer, blood disease, heart failure, to name a few. And I am happy that she is reunited with her parents, her sister, the babies she miscarried, and of course her oldest son, my uncle Mike, who died at the age of 21. Grandma lived a very long and full life, and for that I am so thankful.
I was cooking dinner tonight and thinking about my grandma. She was an awesome cook. I have lots of lovely memories of Christmas and Thanksgivings at her house. I will miss all of her yummy food. Luckily, I've got some of her recipes that are my favorites, to treasure forever. I remember one time when I was in first grade, and my 4 siblings and I stayed with my grandparents for a few days or maybe a week, while my parents went on a much-needed vacation. I remember Grandma made us pancakes one morning for breakfast, and I ate 6 of them!
Grandma also did a lot of canning. The two things I remember the most were her peaches and her applesauce. There is no applesauce in the world to top Grandma's, and there is nothing like a bowl of cottage cheese with Grandma's peaches. At her funeral, there was a lovely display table of photos of her and her family throughout the years, as well as a few other odds and ends. One of those was a jar of peaches that she had canned on (I think) September 28th, just days before she passed. My brother commented to me that he'd really like that can of peaches all to himself, and he'd sit and cry and eat peaches and think of our grandma. I told him I felt the same way.
Before her stroke twenty years ago, she was also very crafty. She sewed and cross stitched and things like that. After the stroke she was unable to do many of the things she enjoyed, and her worsening eyesight didn't help matters. But she never seemed to feel sorry for herself, and she always stayed busy doing other things she enjoyed, like gardening and scrapbooking.
She was also very musical, but unfortunately I can't remember her playing her piano or organ for me. Maybe because us kids were always fooling around with her organ--that thing was fun! Or perhaps that is another thing she was unable to do after her stroke, I don't really know. I don't remember much before she had her stroke, because I was about 5 when it happened.
My grandma was always really good about attending graduations, piano recitals, dance recitals, and everything in between. She wasn't a woman of many words, but she showed her love and support through her actions. She was also a very selfless woman. I don't remember her ever talking about herself. She always wanted to know what we were up to, and kept us talking about our own lives. She found a lot of joy in her grandchildren.
She was also a kind and loving companion to my grandpa for (I think) almost 60 years! To think she put up with him and his silly puns for that long! ;)
I was thinking that it's kind of sad that all I have left of my grandma are memories, which fade and warp with time. But then I realized that part of my grandma lives on in ME! And not just in my DNA, but I enjoy a lot of the things my grandma did. I enjoy sewing, reading, and writing in my journal (she was a very faithful journal-keeper like her own mother), and I'm beginning to enjoy cooking again. Some things I'd like to try that she did were canning and cross stitching. I'd also like to be a better gardener. Oh, and I have an insatiable sweet tooth like she did!
I hope that my grandma knows how much I love and miss her. But I am so glad that she is no longer suffering. She endured a lot. Diabetes, skin cancer, blood disease, heart failure, to name a few. And I am happy that she is reunited with her parents, her sister, the babies she miscarried, and of course her oldest son, my uncle Mike, who died at the age of 21. Grandma lived a very long and full life, and for that I am so thankful.
7 comments:
My grandma passed right after we found out we were pregnant again... It really is comforting to know that I'll see her again and that she lives IN me. Like you said- liking the same things, same personalities, etc. My grandma was an amazing woman and I'm sure yours was too. :D
WEll that post left me in tears...and I never even met her! Great tribute Mandy. I am sure she knows how much you loved her. (((HUGS))) And you reminded me how lucky I am to have my grandparents with me still...who I think I will go visit this weekend.
((HUGS))
what a beautiful woman she was mandy. thanks for sharing your memories of her. ((hugs))
Thanks so much for sharing Mandy. It sounds like your grandma was an altogether wonderful lady. ((HUGS))
That was truly beautiful Moo. I sure do love you! Oh, and I finally figured out how to follow people's blogs. So, you'll be hearing more from me soon.
That was beautiful, and it brought me to tears. She sounds like a truly awesome woman, and I'm glad that you found a part of you for her to live on in...
~hugs~
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