Challenge: Someone That I Miss

How’s your day been going?

Mine?  Busy.

But not too busy for a sentimental trip down memory lane. Grab the Kleenex box.

Time for Day 28 of the Challenge – Something/Someone That I Miss

Something/Someone That I Miss

I miss my Grandma.   She has been gone about 10 years now.   I will try to paint a picture with words of this woman for you since I have no digital photographs of her.

She was at her peak, about 5’0′ tall and by the time she was 90 when she died, probably about 4’8″.  I am almost 5’11” so I was taller than my grandma from the time I was a little girl, about the fourth grade or so.  I loved the day I passed her up in height, and my mom, too.   My grandma was short in stature, but was the biggest giver and had the biggest heart of anyone I have ever known.

She would give you the shirt off her back, or cook or feed anyone and everyone.  She worked at her Catholic parish serving funeral luncheons, retirement luncheons, working rummage sales, fundraisers, you name it, and she did it for for over 50 years.  Yes, she belonged to the same parish for over 50 years.  That’s the last of a dying breed.

She walked to 7am Mass every morning.  Even in brutal Minnesota winters with -40F windchills, Grandma walked to Mass.  It was about a mile each way.  And she did it up until just a few years before she died.  She only drove for a few years of her life.  And by about 1950, never had a driver’s license.

She walked everywhere.  She always said that walking kept her young.  I agree whole-heartedly.  She never “worked out” a day in her life.  She lived her life, and that included lots of walking, and exercise was a by-product of living.

She loved life.  She never complained.  She believed in all that was good and right about the world.  She was not cynical, jaded, and did not have a mean bone in her body.

She believed in God and had a faith stronger than anyone I have ever known.  She didn’t need to talk about it, either.  Just being in her presence, you knew this woman had strong convictions and didn’t need to evangelize or proselytize.

She loved all babies and children in a deep, reverent, spiritual way, and believed that they were truly a gift from God.

I attribute my psychic tendencies and abilities to my Grandma.  In today’s terms, one may call her a medium.  To me, she was just Grandma.  But she could sense, know, predict, and foreshadow things and events.  I know this is who I got my abilities from.

And this woman could cook.  And she cooked without recipes.  And to top it off, she was legally blind the last 20 years of her life.  So not only was she cooking without recipes, she was cooking without much of her sight and truly cooked by feel.

Her savory dishes were referred to as “Polish Soul Food” as she called it.  Russian and Polish-inspired food like piergoies and dumplings, cabbage, and always lots of homemade chicken noodle soup.  Those are the savory smells of my grandma’s kitchen that are etched in my memory forever.

But the sweet smells are what my Grandmas was known for.

Bread.  She baked bread without a recipe.  Loaves of bread from wheat to banana.

My attempt at Gluten Free Vegan Banana Bread with PB

But no one could ever duplicate my grandma’s banana bread or chocolate chip cookies.  And since she cooked without a recipe, much of it is lost forever.  I talked about this here.

My Vegan GF Chocolate Cookies

…and my Vegan GF No Bake Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

…will never hold a candle to anything she made.  Or my memories of them.

After she died, we found cans of Folgers Coffee in her deep freeze and they had batches of chocolate chip cookies in them.  All little old ladies who survived the Great Depression have deep freezes and massive food stashes, I think.

The childhood memories I have of being with her, of riding the city bus with her and going shopping, of her coming to stay at our house for a week or so at a time, of her loving me unconditionally and doing anything she could to make me happy and make my life better and happier, those memories are so cherished and so profound.

The only recipe of her that I have blogged about is her Special K Bars.   I am so grateful to even have that recipe.

I miss you, Grandma!

Kleenex break for me.

Okay…done.

If you missed my other Challenge Posts, so far there is:

Day 2 – Where I’d like to be in 10 years

Day 6 – 10 Facts

Day 21 – Favorite Shows

Day 26 – What kind of person attracts you

From my last post about Tackling Tuesday, it was fun to hear what you tackled and it seems we all love that feeling of being productive.  All the time. A blessing and a curse, no doubt.

Questions:

1. What is someone/something that you miss?

2. Do you have special memories of your grandparents?

Please share!

See you later, gang!