After a really tough day with my grandfather at the oncologist I came home to find this in my inbox last night, and it just made my heart ache and soar all at the same time. Thank you so much, Heather. This was exactly what I needed to read as a bookend to the day.
Thanks to all of you for the wonderful memories you're sharing in the comments. All that you have shared, along with the beautiful posts from friends have helped me to feel not so alone during a really sad time. xxoo, S
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From Heather Smith Jones
Thank you
Shanna for inviting me to share here.
At first I thought, how can I choose one memory about one grandparent? Then this photo (from my baby album
that's at my parents house and I haven't even looked at for ages) came to mind
repeatedly as I was thinking about what to write.
I'm not sure I remember this moment looking at queen anne's lace with my grandmother behind my dad's pottery studio. But I can't say that I don't remember it either, because this is how she always looked, gentle and poised. The memories I have of Grandmother (who passed away this January) are a gathering of moments, echoing sounds, images that tease my memory like a flashbulb, and sweet aromas all wrapped together.
My sister and I would spend a few weeks each summer with our grandparents doing fun summer stuff like riding big wheels and bikes up and down the street with our cousins, playing croquet in their tiny front yard which at the time seemed huge, swinging in the back under the apple tree, eating fresh cucumber slices with ranch at lunch, and so on. When Grandmother looked at one of us, she would wink and her face literally sparkled. I hear the sing-songy way she'd call "morning glory" to wake us. At night her face smelled soft of ponds facial cream and her 'tuck us in' kisses would smack and ring in my ear. When I recall Grandmother slicing fresh peaches for cobbler and the oozy sweetness dripping from her hands, or the summer ritual of making homemade apple butter, the clanky sound of the recliner kicking back in the den, or the rhythm of their footsteps on the linoleum floor, these memories now become a discovery to me. These every day experiences are cherished and renewed because times together like this won't happen again on earth.
And that is something special about grandparents; I think they have a way of making grand life from these moments. The daily habits and routines we shared become like something never before seen, like seeing the soft whiteness of queen anne's lace for the first time as a child. They remind me, that these small moments collectively make up the important parts of life.