Memories

Not every 40 year old can say that they spent the majority of their 40 years with their grandparents. Sadly, my grandma, the last of my sweet grandparents is about to pass away.  While my heart breaks and my eyes are consistently filled with tears, I understand what a privilege it is to have the memories I have. You see I didn't just spend time with my grandma, I lived next door to her, lived in the same home at one time and even to this day she lived right down the street. There are so many things I think of when I think of Grandma Nancy.

Memories:
Doing puzzles
Making meatloaf and letting me pour the tomato sauce in different designs on the top
Sleeping in the blue room and her telling me to sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite.
Watching TV and doing her crosswords after grandpa went to bed
Her making me glazed donuts and letting me dip them in her coffee
Riding her exercise bike as she ironed
Raccoons and Bells in her cabinet
Her sitting on pillows to reach the steering wheel of her car
Driving me to the hospital when I broke my arm
Opening her drawers in awe of all her little Avon lipsticks
Breakfast Christmas morning
Watching movies in her bedroom
How she loved animals, real and stuffed
Her love for sports and especially the Reds and the Bengals
Calendars from all of the places she donated to.
Church at St. Gabes and breakfast with her friends
Vacations to Hawaii and Disney
St. Rita's Festival
When she got a computer and always needed technical help
Playing Slots
Teaching her how to use an iPad so she could play word games
Talking about Papaw Don and her work
Helping me in my classroom to organize my classroom library, sharpening 100's of pencils. Even this last year she came to my class.
BonWorth outfits
Potato Chips
How she didn't like fruit in her desserts but did love lemon
When she'd go to the Dollar Store to fill my classroom treasure chest.
Sending my boys HighLights Magazine because she remembered I liked them
Candy dishes all over
Glasses of Wine and Coffee
Going to the zoo
And most recently spending time playing cards, having her hair done, her telling everyone she could that I was her granddaughter, watching TV, sitting together looking at pictures of times she could no longer recall. And even though dementia took away her memories, I feel blessed to have them.  We love you Grandma.