Gram's Dash...

Here is what I shared at my Grandma's (Gram) memorial service in Aurora on Saturday, January 3rd.

My memories and lessons learned in my 31 years from that dash you see between her birthday and date of death.

Gram - May 21, 1920 - December 19, 2008

• A half stick of gum : can you picture Gram chewing gum? The question should be, “ever see her w/o gum?” Did you know that it was always a half a piece? Growing up, she’d give us grandkids gum, but always told us to split it in half and share it. For the last few years – I gave her Extra gum for birthdays & Christmas. I have a half piece every now & then. I got bold once and told her I was chewing a whole piece of gum, I don’t recall her reaction.


• “By cracky”: I can’t think of how to use this in a sentence, but it is one of Gram’s sayings. All be darn.


• Always Interested: Even if she never understood any of my jobs since college, she sure tried. She was always interested in her Grandkids and was always up for a “report”


• Scratch paper and gifts : Many letters I received from her were on scratch pieces of paper. She looked for ways to save money, yet when it came time for Graduations – both Grandparents were generous


• Coupons : “I’m sending you these coupons,” she always say, “but that doesn’t mean you have to buy everything.”


• Newspaper articles: Gram always included some type of newspaper article she thought I’d find interesting. As a bonus, she’d double underline specific things - with a ruler.


• Small hand-writing: as years went by, letters still came into my box, but her handwriting was so fine and so small


• Norman Rockwell: she really like Norman’s paintings – usually had one of ‘em around the house. I’d usually get her a Rockwell calendar for Christmas


• Flowers : she could name more flowers than I’ve ever heard of. Most of my birthday cards to her had a flower on the front.


• Her memory: she might call me by my cousin Drew’s name, but she could name her family members, how many kids they had and what their names are


• Someone Special: As a groomsman at my sister’s wedding, I had a good view of all the guests. I can clearly picture Grandma smiling during Angie’s wedding ceremony. She would always say she hoped her Grandkids would find someone special.


• Snow on the mountain cookies: yummm… these were the best cookies ever. Grandma’s cookies were good, yes a cliché, but the truth


• Treasure hunting: she like to find special things at good prices. Goodwill was a great place for her to find ‘em.


• TV mix: Both Ashley & my dad were big fans of Gram’s cold TV mix, it was a yummy tradition for Gram to make a batch or two and surprise us all


• Gardening: hands & knees, Gramp & Gram were always planting something in their backyard. Squash is what I recall most. I like to imagine both Gramp & Gram working on the gardens in Heaven, planting flowers & vegetables.


• Programs: Gramp & Gram liked to attend any event they could. They would report back to us with the program itself and tell us about it.


• Pictures : Gram always hand her camera nearby to "snap a picture"


• Always on the go: there was an adventure for Gramp and Gram and even after Gramp passed, my mom & Gram would go on their Thursday adventures – somewhere in Lincoln or they would venture to Aurora. My parents would usually take here somewhere once or twice a week.


• Growing close: it has been great for me to see how close mom and Gram grew these past few years.


• Unwrap gifts: Gram would make sure she or we didn’t rip into wrapping paper. “Save it, it is pretty – I will use it again.” She’d say.


• Acts of service: Gram would do anything for anyone.

I’ll miss her giving me half sticks of gum, tiny written letters, coupons, newspaper articles, my one-on-one visits at Gramercy, and of course – snow on the mountain cookies

Lessons from Gram:
Always be learning something. Serve others. Give generously to those in need. Learn to garden & plant trees. Eat healthy. Use coupons. Read. Write family members. Remember people’s names. Unwrap gifts and save the wrapping paper for ‘next time’.