This here is my grandma. At 88 years old (88 and a quarter, is how she shares her age), she took a two hour Amtrak train ride to our house to be here this weekend for a family BBQ. All her children, seven of her eight grandchildren and nine of her twelve great-granz (as she calls them) will be here.
She is in all her glory.
In honor of her visit, I wanted to share a couple of favorites that I love about my grandma.
1. Grandma loves me no matter what. In all my forty years and through many dumb mistakes, she has always been in my corner. As a teenager I went to my first party and was introduced to alcohol. My parents punished me by not allowing me to babysit my siblings that day (they both were to be gone) and told my grandma to make sure that I didn’t take a nap. They wanted me to be as miserable as possible when they met with me later that evening.
Grandma put me right to bed. When my father would call to check on me she would run into the room and whisper, “Joey, your father is on the phone, hurry, wake up and talk to him!”
2. She calls me all the time. Now married and the mother of four children, I am a bit busy. Grandma calls to check on me, to see how the kids are doing or to just congratulate us on any milestones the kids have made. If I don’t call her back, I will get machine gun calls over and over again until I dial her number.
Oh, and did I mention that she signs her phone messages? “Joey, this is your grandma. Where are you honey? What are you all up to? I am doing good. Did you get my last message? I am starting to worry about you. Where are you guys?!? I can’t wait to see you on Thursday. Did you talk with Judy about what time to pick me up at the train station? I love you honey…………Grandma.”
3. Grandma always loves on me with food! As a child she would have my favorite sugary cereal at her home “Peanut butter Capn’ Crunch” waiting. When I visit even now, she makes me her homemade rice pudding. Just this week when she came to stay she brought me and Paul and whole box of See’s Candy!
Maybe this is why I have struggled with my weight all my life.
4. She has been my blessed memory maker. I can’t look back on my life and not have Grandma right there alongside almost every precious memory. Sleepovers at her house were awesome! She would put on the heating blanket in the spare room so that when my sister and I would go to bed it would be all toasty warm for us. All holidays as a child were spent at her house. Christmas, Easter, even the fourth of July was spent hanging out at her house, eating her crab dip and of course with an Italian Grandpa…masttoccolis at every meal.
I’m right back on food again, aren’t I?
Having Grandma over is more blessing than I can convey with words. Yes, she can drive me a bit batty, yes..she is hard of hearing…and yes, she is starting to really slow down. But today when her family comes, she will be showing us her dance steps, hugging all of her children when they arrive…and telling us all for the millionth time….
“Can you believe that I started all of this?!?”
I love you Grandma.
Love your FAVORITE Granddaughter,
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