Special Anniversary

Today would have been my paternal grandparents 51st wedding anniversary. Today is also the 2nd anniversary of my Gram's passing. My Grandfather passed away about 18 months before I was born in June of 1976. My Gram and I were extremely close, I lived with her pretty much from the day I came home from the hospital until the day I got married. I was her only granddaughter for many years. Because of circumstances we even ended up getting an apartment together, just the two of us, about about 10 months before Corey and I got married. Once Corey and I married we got an apartment in the same complex as my Gram so that I could go see her everyday.

My Gram and I did everything together, we were shopping buddies, lunch buddies. She was my rock, especially during the crazy teenage years when you feel like your parents just don't understand. She was always there for me to lend an ear, give a hug, give an opinion/advice and even a good "kick in the pants". She taught me things like "you catch more flies with honey than you do vinegar" and "keep your nose clean". After Corey and I got married I always arranged my school schedule so that we could have lunch together every Friday, go to Target and then grocery shop. She would save the "heavy stuff" for that day since she knew I would carry it in and put it away for her.

As I got older, in the back of my head I would wonder how I would handle the day that she would pass away. I will never forget that day when it finally came two years ago. I know I had so many prayers lifted up on my behalf because God gave me the grace and peace to be able to make it through. Part of the peace came from knowing where she was going to spend her eternity. Corey and I had the opportunity to pray the prayer of salvation with her on March 18, 2008 (not even knowing that she would be gone within a month). I'll never forget the day I had to say goodbye to her, it was on Easter of 2006, and we knew the end was very near. I was strong for her but as I walked out of the hospital room with Corey, my two year old Aly and my brand new baby girl Ashley I burst into tears because I knew I would never see her again, at least not in this life.

My Grandparents are the "Greatest Generation" souls. I have such a heart for senior citizens and people from my grandparents generation. Sometimes I will see someone in a store who reminds me of my Gram and I have to choke back tears. Or I will see a young girl shopping or having lunch with her grandmother and I think "how lucky" that they still have the time to be able to be together, I just hope they are cherishing every moment because I miss my Gram's friendship everyday.

Below is a picture from my Gram's Wedding Day. Of course my grandparents are in the middle, Doris and Gus. To the right of them is my Great Aunt Bern (my grandfather's sister) and my Great Uncle "the Bug" (Bud). My Great Aunt is still alive and it gives me great delight to see her because I feel as though a part of my Gram is still here with me.