Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Emma

On December 21st, just a few weeks ago, my dear Grandma passed away. She and I were close and I miss her. Although she's from Ottawa she had been living in a home about 10 minutes away since June so I was blessed with a lot of time with her, creating precious memories. At her funeral, my brother shared on behalf of our siblings, some of our memories. This is what I wrote...

Grandma and I have had a special relationship being the first granddaughter after 6 grandsons. Even though she’s lived in Ottawa she has always played an active role in my life. Almost every Sunday we would talk on the phone and I have countless letters she wrote when I went away to camp or university. I always loved going to visit her and Grandpa in Ottawa. Knowing I loved fruit, she always had some ready for me when I arrived. Even when she came to visit us in Mississauga she would often bring some frozen strawberries for me that she had picked earlier in the year.. A few weeks ago when I told her about this memory while spending an evening with her at Erin Mills Lodge, she quickly offered some raspberries she had in her fridge for me to take home!

One of my most precious memories I have with Grandma is visiting her a few weeks after Grandpa passed away. It was Valentine’s Day and we ate popcorn and chocolate and talked about Grandpa. We laughed and cried together. I told her about a guy named Joel I was interested in, who I would later marry. When she first met Joel she whispered to me that he had nice eye lashes, her way of saying she approved, and a comment that she would also make about our two new sons only a few months ago. Grandma told me how much Grandpa had taught her about the Bible and how she loved it too. Her faith in God is a lasting example to all of us.

I am so thankful that Grandma got to meet and spend time with our six month old sons, Micah and Caleb. Grandma was at the same hospital recovering from her stroke, when I gave birth. She was one floor up and one room over from us and she has said over and over how amazing it was that we were both there... always looking at the positive side of things. I know my boys won’t remember their great Grandma but when they ask about her I’ll tell them she was an amazing woman, who played a mean game of golf well into her nineties, who loved God, her family and the people around her.... with heaps and heaps of love!
(She signed all of her cards and letters this way, with /\'s and /\'s of love )

1 comment:

cheryl said...

beautiful. she sounds amazing.