Nine years ago today, my grandma (whom I referred to from a very young age as "Grandmom") passed away. Fairly unexpectedly and way too early. It's always a tough day on me and my family, and my mom and aunt have shared beautiful tributes on Facebook.
My instinct is to be sad, and it would be natural, but I'm going to use this blog post to go in a different direction: a list of 20 things I liked best about her. Here goes...*
*
Disclaimer: I realize that my last post was about
Robin Williams. I promise that I won't always be writing about things that may make you want to cry, call someone you care about, and eat chocolate (simultaneously).
1. Her "Yellow Bag." It was a bag where she kept toys, treats, and goodies for me, and there were always new things in it every time I visited.
2. Spaghetti and meatballs, pork chops, and Italian sausage...lovingly called "barnyard spaghetti." She would get a kick out of the fact that I'm a vegetarian now.
3. Her Uncle Sam collection
4. On Thanksgiving, when I walked in the house, I felt like I was walking into an issue of
Martha Stewart Living.
5. When I was about five or so, I had a Cabbage Patch doll named Emmy. And when we would go on vacation, Grandmom would "babysit" Emmy. She would even show me the empty jars of baby food when we came home.
6. She'd listen to me talk for hours about school, friends, and things I liked. She made me feel as if I was the most fascinating person in the world.
7. Oh, and another thing about Thanksgiving. She would make me my own special pumpkin pie (one without cream cheese, which I didn't love).
8. And that word, "special." That was her word for me. She always found cards that said "special" somewhere and underlined it.
9. Her laugh
10. On holidays, Papa would try to make me eat "weird foods" (i.e. liver and onions). Grandmom would say, "Oh, Ross, leave her alone."
11. During my first year at Ripon College, she would send me cookies, cards, and other little things.
12. She was the best gift-opener in history. I'm sure that many a time, she received a less-than-desirable gift. But her reaction made it seem as if it was the best gift she had ever gotten.
13. She was constantly on the lookout for things that had my name on them, like pencils and ornaments. She knew those items were rare since my name isn't a common one.
14. At every one of my events, from basketball games to academic awards nights to school plays, she was there.
15. Speaking of basketball, she loved the Bulls, particularly Michael Jordan. She never missed a game when he played.
16. The red "You Are Special Today" plate she put out for the birthday boy or girl.
17. Her larger-than-life personality, complete with blue eyeshadow (hey, it was the 80's) to her fiery red hair.
18. She always knew just what to say. A favorite quote of hers was "This too shall pass."
19. The sights, smells, and sounds of her "Nice Things" gift shop.
20. The fact that Grandmom had a knack for making every human being she came into contact with feel important and worthwhile.
To sum up, she was just pure awesomeness.
