Remembering Granny

This little lady. 

Coming in at 4 feet 10 inches, Granny was a force to be reckoned with. She was strong mentally, physically, and spiritually. 

This tiny little firecracker raised five children and became a widow in her 50s. 

It was then that she continued to take care of the farm by herself, ran her household alone, learned to drive, and made her 15 grandchildren, 39 great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren feel loved and valued. She did all that while taking care of babies, little old ladies, and people of all ages in between.

👆 That's baby Trish. 

Granny did everything full force. She always had a garden when we were kids that was massive. She took up quilting and had too much fabric to count. Granny made quilts for all those grandkids' weddings and the babies that followed. She also loved the Lord with her whole heart and faithfully prayed with her rosary.

My fondest memory with Granny is when she came all the way to England to meet her great grandson Zeke. 

While they were in the UK, Mom and Granny wanted to put their feet in the North Sea because Granny had never been to the ocean. The water was frigid, the air was freezing, and the wind was whipping. But both of those strong-willed ladies stood their ground and neither was backing out. As they were rolling up their pant legs, my Mom told Granny that she needed to roll her pant legs higher. Granny retorted, "Well I'm not going in up to my asshole!" Being a woman of strong faith, I had never heard her use curse words before then. It still makes me laugh thinking about it. Just a couple days before she passed, while in the hospital, she told Aunt Kathy that she never cussed before Kathy joined the family. 😂

Look how cute she is sitting by the sea for the first time.

This picture is in such disarray because Grandad carried it in his wallet. Look at those young kids in love.

Granny always showed up for everything--weddings, graduations, babies, holidays.

I love both Granny and Grandad's expressions in this picture. I don't feel like I resemble either side of the family, except of course for the height thing (or in our case, the lack of height😆), but when I saw this picture I realized that I have Granny's eyes.

This was Granny's first selfie.

Granny and Grandad always looked like they were having fun.

It probably wasn't too often that I got Granny's lap to myself.

This was taken at her 90th birthday.

Look how cute her face is, getting all that affection from her biggest granddaughters.

I know Granny is now in the presence of Jesus and that makes my heart sing. I know I will see her again when I join her in heaven one day, and that makes me joyful. 

But I sure will miss my tiny little Granny.

[October 6, 1926-May 18, 2021]