My paternal Grandma is 85 years old. Believe me, I know how blessed I have been to have had her all 38 years of my life. My earliest memories of her are in the kitchen - man, can she cook. Lasagna, Chicken Kiev, Curry, the best Christmas cookies you have ever had, homemade cakes, Monkey Bread, Eggs Benedict, and on and on. I once watched her cook a hot German Potato Salad from a 1945 Betty Crocker cookbook and did not skip one step or take one shortcut. Man, that was the best potato salad I have ever had.
Recently, my Grandma, my Aunt and I threw a shower for my cousin. Grandma insisted on making homemade Petit Fours - just like the ones she made for my mom's wedding shower in the 60's. I tried to convince her that buying them from a bakery would be so much easier - but she wouldn't hear of it.
The day of the shower, Grandma and I tackled the Petit Fours.
And we both agreed that it would be her last time to make them and my first and definitely LAST time to make them too!
They may not have been pretty - we just couldn't figure out the right consistency to make the icing stay on the side s- but they were "oh-my-goodness" good. Don't ask how many of these bad boys I ate that day.
I don't care if they weren't pretty. I love the one-on-one time I got with Grandma.
She is one amazing lady, my Grandma. The wife of a Military Officer, she has survived WWII as a new wife, the Korean War as a mom, an Alaskan Earthquake, multiple heart surgeries, and the death of her oldest son. She is compassionate and loving, and strong, and matriarchal. She is the most organized woman I know - you should see her spice cabinet - and goes all out for family events. Even at her age, she still wants to cook an elaborate dinner for everyone's birthdays.
You think she would be set in her ways, pushing away the modern conveniences of our century. Nope - this lady can handle her cell phone perfectly - in fact she prefers to use it! She has a whole slew of TV shows stored on her DVR and is always telling me about the "good ones". And she reads voraciously. In fact, she and I trade book reviews often.
As her eldest granddaughter, it is hard for me to come to terms with Grandma growing older. I have known her as a young Grandma who would go swimming with me and get on the floor and play barbies. Yet, it is so refreshing to me that I can have an adult conversation with her - get her advice on things - and hear new stories of her life as a mom of 4 children. In fact, I found out the other day that she was a Tupperware saleswoman!
I am so happy that my children have gotten to know her as "Grandma" too. Brody has a special bond with her - as a little boy he just loved to sit in her lap - and now as he is growing, I notice that he still gives her long hugs. She is an amazing model of a loving Grandma - one I hope to inspire to be just like one day.
And when I am 85 and married for over 60+ years to the love of my life - I want to be smiling into my golden years - just like these 2 cuties!
