"Hi Grandma, it's Bryan, I'm calling to say Happy Birthday! Can you believe you're 94 today?" Oh, how I wish I really could make this call but unfortunatley my Grandma is no longer with us. She passed in February of '09 and to be honest, I still cry when I think about her being gone.Oh, I know it's real and I know she's gone but she was such a huge part of my childhood, my entire life and she holds a very special place in my heart.
Some of the earliest memories I have are of being at Grandma and Grandpas house for the best Thanksgivings ever. She sure knew how to cook a turkey (way before they ever invented the little Red Popper Upper thingy) that's for sure but it was the gravy, that chunky (filled with all kinds of 'innards' as I would come to learn later on) gravy that really made the turkey what it was and the Ambrosia (a fancy way of sayin' Fruit Salad) was just incredible.
No canned Cranberry Sauce for her, no way and it was the same with the Pumpkin Pie, no store bought action there either. The huge table, with it's antique table cloth, fancy plates and real silverware, was covered in numerous marvelous dishes. So many fixins that basically all you could do is eat two bites of each item and then it was time to hit the couch. You were pretty much done for the day.
And that's even if you didn't eat dinner the night before, which I often did to make sure I had room to squeeze in every delectable bite I could of Grandmas Thanksgiving Feast! Then to top it off, we always left with a ton of leftovers so it was a week of turkey sandwiches and fixins, which I enjoyed as much as my Mom did, because she basically got a week off from cooking. No doubt it was a win/win.
We also spent numerous Christmas' with my Grandparents and the word special is an understatement. Oh how they loved Xmas, and so did me and my sister. Grandmas house for any of the Holidays always spelled FUN!
Another stand out for me were all the trips to Disneyland. I was born in Anaheim and we lived just down the street from D~Land. My Grandma took my sister and I more times than I can even count.
As we got older, we were able to cruise around the entire Magic Kingdom on our own, which was super sweet. Grandma would set a time and we'd meet her back at the Pirates of the Caribbean or the Submarine Ride.
I can still remember bein' around 10 or 11 and I was on the hunt for girls that were without their parents and I actually kinda 'hooked up' (in those days that meant we went through the Haunted House together) with a girl (as I look back, she might have been a 'Cougar', as I was into older fourteen year old women back then) and I ended up getting back late to meet my Grandma, who was pretty much on fire at that point! I don't think she swatted me in front of the entire world but I definitely received a stearn lecture of sorts.
She wasn't afraid to take charge of the situation as she definitely had discipline down to a science but she also had the biggest heart when it came to us kids. Now, keep in mind I might be sayin' that last part because I was her favorite, I'm not sure.
But then I'll bet she bought us chocolate covered frozen bananas right after that. That's the kind of Grandma she was, tough but soft. Hmmmm, I wonder if that's where my chocolate addiction first took hold?
As we grew up, she continued to be there for us. Although Thanksgivings and Christmas' weren't really the same after my parents divorced (when I was 14), I still loved my Grandma as much as ever and cherished the times that I did get to see her.
For those that read my previous post (http://www.bryangira.com/life-is-short-dont-put-it-off) on her 93rd Birthday, I won't go into it here but suffice it to say that as time went on, I didn't put forth the effort that I should have in regards to visiting her. And like a ton of bricks, it came crashing down on me when I found out it was too late. My Grandma was diagnosed with Dementia, early Alzheimers, and spent her last years not knowing who I was.
But I don't want this post to turn into a tear fest (any more than it already is) and so I want to continue to focus on what a wonderful, caring, giving, loving woman that she was and as far as I'm concerned, the Best Grandma EVER!
Grandma, I miss you more than you'll ever know....and Happy 94th Birthday!
Love, Bryan
If you've had a similar situation with any of your family members, if you can relate in any way, I'd love to hear about it and if you enjoyed this Post, I'd appreciate it if you'd share it with your friends.
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