My grandma

She dressed up to go play bingo
She did our laundry while my mom worked
She said she could read Paula Deen's southern drawl on her lips
She baked everything from scratch
She didn't like to ask for help
She drove too fast, but never had an accident in her life
She could take one look at you and see your true soul
She loved music and often said that even though she couldn't hear the songs she still remembered them
She was an emailing whiz
She didn't like to lose and sometimes decks of cards were destroyed when she did
She grew raspberries, logan berries, and all sorts of other berries
She made the best jam in the world
She loved to play Scrabble online
She loved Andy from the moment she laid eyes on him
She was frugal
She was generous
She always went on vacation with us
She was a people-watcher
She taught me the beauty of the ocean
She never put a meal on the table without a salad
She used Oil of Olay for as long as a I can remember
She wore silky 2-piece pajamas
She never got over losing her dad
She couldn't tell a lie because her eyes curled
She loved to read and trashy romance novels were her favorite
She came to every one of my games, band concerts, school functions, etc.
She let me stay up late and sleep-in
She was old-fashioned
She found animals in the clouds
She made-up my song - "Melania Sue, Melania Sue, is quite a girl I'm telling you"
She was mine and I was hers

I know that I could just keep writing and writing, but I'd never be able to share everything she meant to me. She was much more than just a grandma, a mom, a wife. The love and happiness that she brought to me and our family is something that I just do not have adequate words to express.

One of my very favorite songs is from the musical, Rent. The song, "Seasons of Love" so perfectly illustrates how I feel about looking back on my grandma's life.

525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes -
how do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life?
How about love? How about love? How about love?
Measure in love. Seasons of love.

525,600 minutes! 525,000 journeys to plan. 525,600 minutes -
how can you measure the life of a woman or man?
In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried.
In bridges he burned, or the way that she died.

It’s time now to sing out, tho the story never ends -
let's celebrate, remember a year in the life of friends.
Remember the love! Remember the love! Remember the love!
Measure in love. Seasons of love! Seasons of love!

Edith Irene Menken
April 4, 1923 - June 4, 2006