Grannie

A copy of the note I sent my Grannie on her very last birthday this side of heaven:

Dear Grannie,

Thank you for all the school performances, ball games, and church events you've attended.

Thank you for remembering that Chantel likes macaroni and cheese and that Drew's favorite is chocolate cake.  Thank you for making pineapple pudding for me when you made banana pudding for everyone else because you knew I didn't like banana.

Thank you for teaching us to eat watermelon with salt, that recipes are optional, and dinner is ready when the smoke detector goes off.

Thank you for teaching me how to do smocking by using gingham fabric to learn spacing, how to make a toy from a button and thread, and sharing how you rolled a hoop with the boys.

Thank you for the curtains you've made for homes, the quilts that we have slept under, and the doll clothes that have been played with.

Thank you for showing us a strong work ethic: the board being set up over the dining room table on Sunday evenings after dinner so you could work through the week; the years of hard work you put in raising a family, working a farm, and working away from home.

Thank you for letting me put your hair up in rollers as we watched Little House on the Prairie.

Thank you for reading the books you knew I loved so  you could learn more about me--from Anne of Green Gables to Les Miserables.

Thank you for supporting me when we started homeschooling the children.

Thank you for being Grannie to everyone who walked through your door, regardless of kinship.

Thank you for loving us all, listening to us all, and laughing with us all.