A tribute

Dear Life,

Two weeks ago, my beloved grandmother passed away.  My grandma was amazing.  She wasn't raised to be the lovey dovey, sweet as pie grandma that one might think makes an amazing grandma.  She was a no- nonsense, speak her mind grandma.  She was frugal, and you knew when you went to her house you better not put your hands on the wall.  But she was always there.  ALWAYS. 

 She taught me to love God.  She taught me about Jesus.  Not in words, but in actions.  She was a servant of God until the day she died. She served her church every single day.  Literally until she went into the hospital.  And even then, she tried to leave the hospital to finish what she was doing.

  She taught me about unconditional love.  She was a presence in our lives always.  When I was little, she took us to church every Sunday.  She gave us a dollar to put in the offering basket.  After church, we would always go to breakfast.  Such favorite memories.  Once a year, her and my grandpa took my sister and I to Disneyland.  We never got souvenirs, we ate at the burger places not the sit down restaurants, and she sure did love the Country Bear Jamboree (which I HATED as a kid), but it was a place that we went to with them.  It was so fun.  As we grew up, got married, had kids, she was always there for them.  She went to promotions, graduations, soccer games, choir performances, baptisms, baby blessings, birthday parties, and anything else that was important to us.  

She has been constant in our lives.  Over the last few years, she has been sick, and she has missed my grandpa terribly.  He passed away before he could meet Kumaka, in October 2006.  She had been alone a long time.  I knew that one day, she would have to leave our world, and go to the next, happy to see her husband and her family.  We are all so sad that she is gone.  There is a gaping hole where she used to be.  But I am so very thankful for the gospel, for knowing that we can be together as a family again.  I am thankful she is no longer suffering.  And I am so thankful for every single thing she taught me while she was here.  I asked my boys what they remember about grandma, and the first thing Kekoa said was she was always there. That is her legacy.  

The Strength of a Woman

Dear Life,

Thank you for bringing strong women into my life.  Thank you for giving me a grandmother who is one of the strongest.  She has what I call "Pioneer Stock".  She could have been a pioneer woman and been just fine.  As it is, she grew up as a child during the depression and watched boys she grew up with go off to serve in World War 2.  She's a no nonsense kind of woman, and she lives to serve others.  At one point in her life, she wanted to go on a mission.  She never did, but she has served her community, her church, and her family beyond any woman I have ever seen.  Her marriage to my grandfather was the example I held in my heart and continue to hold in my heart.

She now lives alone, my grandfather left this earth five years ago.  But she does not stay home....she does what she would normally do.  But now...now she is having to fight a battle.  The breast cancer battle.  As I listened to her talk about what may happen....radiation every day for five weeks...and possibly chemo....I was amazed to hear her sound receptive to what the doctors are offering her.  I used to think she was preparing her life to move on to the next...but today I heard something different.  I heard her preparing to move forward...to be with us longer.  That made me happy.  It also put me more in awe of her strength.  I pray that I can give her an ounce of the strength she has always given my family.

Grandma and Keoni three years ago

My sister Tara, Grandma and Me

Thank you for giving me a Grandma with a Pioneer Spirit.  

Sincerely,

A Mom of Boys

PS She would be so mad if she saw this post.....hee hee kinda glad she hasn't caught on to newfangled technology!