My grandma is the coolest little old lady ever!!!

It's her 75th birthday this weekend.  Since Leah and I haven't seen her for about two years, I decided to take Saturday off work and drive up to Middle Lake to see her for the weekend and to be with her on her special day. 

I Remember:

• Walking to grandma's everyday for lunch


• Going shopping with Grandma every week


• Grandma taking my sister and I to church on Sundays


• The three of us going out for lunch at McDonalds after


• When there was only two pieces of cake, she'd let us have them and have none for herself.


• The tears that welled in her eyes as my sister and I would cut ours in half and we'd each give Grandma half of a piece.


• Our piggy banks that she would put money into so that we could buy something on a rainy day.


• She would never let us watch her put in her contact lenses because we made her nervous....heh.


• She would always ask us to stay overnight, and when we were scared, she would let us sleep in her bed.


• Home made popcorn balls, strudel, cabbage rolls and her stew that is so delicious it drives me nuts.  No one makes stew like that.


• Home remedies.  When our throats were sore, she would smear us with vics and other ointments and pin a towel around our necks so that it would stay warm. 


• Stealing a charm with the three monkeys on it so that I would always keep a small piece of childhood at grandma's house.


• Taking me to get my ears pierced.


• Teaching us about good and bad, lying and truth, sharing and compassion, empathy and the joys of life.


• Crying with us and laughing with us. 


• Darning and mending our clothes.


• Her little dolls that she decorates her bed with.


• Asking me what I want of hers when she dies, and telling her that I wanted the big, white, leather bound bible that she keeps on the desk in her room.


• How I grew from being shorter than her to towering over her 5 foot tall frame.


• Hearing the story about how she armour-all'd my uncle's motorcycle seat once.


• Her purely unconditional love.


• Her independance and strength.


• How she loved our beautiful long hair.


• Always being there with a helping hand when we needed her, because we really did need her, so much.


• The way she encouraged our strengths and talents.  She bought us our first musical instruments.


• How she cared enough about me to try to bribe me to quit smoking.


• All of the important things in life that she taught us from the wisdom found right in the center of her heart.  Things that no one else was there to teach us.


• Letting me move in with her and live with her for a year after I ran away from home.


• The feather pillow that she made for me on my 15th birthday, that I won't leave home overnight without. 


• The time the three of us went camping and grandma brought a jar of loonies that she had been saving.  She paid for the entire trip and three nights in a cabin with loonies.  We kept the jar in the oven for safe keeping.

This list is only a few of the amazing things that this woman did for us.  My Grandma is the soil that I planted my roots in.  It is only because of her that I've grown healthy and strong.  She is the single most important influence for me while growing up, and still today she touches everything I do.  If it weren't for her, I don't know what I would have done.  I thank God for her.  I wonder if she knows how much she means to me and how much she is loved.