Memories

My grandmother played a very big part in my life. Although she's been gone a number of years, I still think of her with encompassing love, and hope that when my grandson is grown, he tells others what a difference I made in his life. My 'granny' certainly shaped the woman I grew to be. In more ways than one. I think all the French fries, frozen strawberries, and candy bars she bought me when I stayed with her had a big influence on my butt. *lol* My grandfather preceded her in death, so Granny lived with my mother.

January is Granny's birth month, and her birthday brought memories of the day she passed and the loss I felt. I recall going to the funeral, trying to support my mother in her loss, and staying afterwards to sort through Granny's things. Everything smelled of her powder and perfume, and it pained me to see her empty rocking chair with her Bible on the table next to it.

Granny only went to the fourth grade in school, so she struggled with reading and writing. I only received a few letters from her in my lifetime, but they were written in the penmanship and prose of a child. You can imagine my shock when while going through her Bible, I found a piece of paper neatly tucked between the pages. I unfolded the somewhat aged page and read the following she'd written after losing her husband:

Life

In the years and days gone by
We were young and full of joy and fun.
We didn't mind working day by day,
It was good and bad times.
We knew God cared and would take care of us all the time,
And he did.

Some days would be dark and cloudy, but the sun would come out and shine
And we see our way.

And that made time fly by.
Now the Lord has him, and I can hear him say,
"Come on up, it's so nice up here.
I want all my loved ones up here by my side,
in the 'by and by'.

I've framed this 'poem' and keep it where I can see it. Although not written to specific English and punctuation requirements, it still moves me. I see now, that Granny was a writer in her own way. Her inspiration and love live on.

I know there are Angel's among us. The night of her funeral, I was going down stairs to find solace in a bowl of ice cream, and I passed through an overwhelming cloud of her cologne of choice - Bengay. To this day, every time I smell that familiar aroma, I know Granny is near.