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.
…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!
Ugh, busy here too – lots going on at work.
Such a sweet post about your grandma, she sounds like a neat lady. And great tribute recipes. :-)
1. My aunt who passed 18 years ago, she was very eclectic and unique with an awesome style and driven career goals.
2. Yes, my grandma is still alive and in her 90s activity writing and living independently. My grandpa passed a few years ago and I miss him too, lots of memories from their visits as a kid. Never got to meet my other set of grandparents because they died in a car accident before I was born.
Your grandmother sounds like such a wonderful person! I think that the baking without a recipe art is one that the older generation was so good at! (Probably because they baked everything from scratch!!) I just lost my first grandparent last year, so I consider myself super lucky to still have 3 of them with me.
What a sweet post. Your grandma sounds amazing. I think you sound a lot like her: active, kind, productive, and you like to cook without recipes, too. :-)
I have a lot of fam and friends that I miss.
I didn’t get to know mine very well (3 died when I was young), so I miss the chance to get to know them better.
Oh, such a lovely post. You obviously had a special relationship with your Grandmother. My Nana died a few years ago and I miss her very much. She was a huge part of my life too and I think of her and remember her often. x
Like you, I feel fortunate to have had an amazing, solid-oak of a grandmother (who also measured in around 4’8 – she called me her giant Banshee :)). The vast majority of my good childhood memories involve her, and a couple of nights ago, I had a realistic dream that the two of us were on a road trip – i definitely woke up happier then most mornings (and thankful to pregnancy for vivid, vivid dreams).
Thanks for this tribute.
wow sounds like your grandmother was such a special person in your life! Thank you so much for sharing your memories with us! :)
I love my grandparents. My mothers parents are still alive and I love them dearly!
My fathers parents are no longer alive and I have so many memories. With my grandfather we would go pick him up every other sunday adn go to IHOP for brunch. Every single sunday he would order the large stack of pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries (mind you, he was about 5’2′ and 130 lbs) he would have about 1/4 of the plate and take the rest home in a to-go container! it was teh cutest thing. he was so focused on his stack of pancakes–it was heaven watching him so happy
What a great story and nice tribute to your grandma!
I miss two people. My great aunt and my sister.
I split my life into two parts, really. Age 25 and younger, when my sister was alive…and then 25 till now.
Your post may be a tear jerker…but I think it’s important to remember in all different ways—sometimes it’s just sad, but still worth it!
What a beautiful post, and how lucky you were to have known your grandmother and had such a special relationship.
My grandmother died two weeks ago- she was 83 and the matriarch of our family. She had 6 children, 11 grandchildren, and 1 great grandchild and lived for her family. She loved to garden and walk, eat healthy and “keep her figure looking good!”. She enjoyed her 5:00 Jim Beam cocktail every evening and stretching every morning. She loved to cook Lebanese food for her family and friends. I miss her so much already, but feel that every time I get to my yoga mat, I’m communicating with her- my yoga practice allows me to get in touch with her energy and love that is still here in this world.
Thanks for sharing, Averie :)
so sorry for your recent loss. my deepest sympathies to your family!
What a lovely dedication to her. It’s hard sometimes to feel as if we are reinventing food because of allergies but I think our grandmothers did what they had to do with rations and so forth and we do what we have to do with allergies to contend with.
How lucky you are to have had such a beautiful example to follow in your life! Both of my grandmas passed away by the time I was 12, but I had a very close relationship with my godmother who lived to be 95. She taught us all some valuable life lessons.
This is a beautiful post. You’re so lucky you were so close to your grandmother. My maternal grandmother passed away a year and a half ago and I miss her a lot, especially her big, booming, frequent laugh. But I only ever saw her once or twice a year because she lived several states away, and I wish I could have gotten closer to her before it was too late. On the plus side, though, that realization has made me closer to my paternal grandparents, who are still alive.
Oh dear…I am not a crier and this made me cry. (Cool. Now I’m crying at work, thanks Averie!) This is such a terrific post. Tomorrow is my birthday and it will be my first without my Grammy and I totally miss her so this just hit a nerve…but in a good way!
Happy Bday and i just noticed you live in San Diego!
Awwe, I love this! She was definitely a special woman, you painted that picture well. I could totally get down with some Polish soul food too :)
I wish I had that kind of relationship with one of my grandmothers! They both are gone but I always lived far away from them. I saw them about once a year, if that. I wanted my kids to be close to their grandparents but both are out of town too.
I miss my mom. Even though she is just a phone call away, it would be so nice if we lived in the same time, or even a car drive away. They live 12 hours away!
Wow, such an awesome tribute and memorium to your Grandma!! My Gram just passed away a few weeks ago. She was 85 and had recently beat cancer. She died suddenly and unexpectedly as well. I think of her often and use her as my barrometer. I always know right from wrong when I think of what Gram would’ve said about ‘xxx’. She was a sassy lady who loved everyone and she cooked special dishes from our culture. Her social life at 65 was better than mine as a teenager! I still can’t believe she’s gone. I wish I would’ve gotten to say a final good bye. I think I’ll always regret that. Now I’m tearing up!
p.s. When I started reading this post I was eating left over cheezy veggie bake. YUM!!
glad the cheezy bake leftovers worked for you :)