I decided to highlight my Grandma Kathy this month. She doesn't really look like a grandma does she? Let alone a great grandmother! BUT she is and she is a great one! My grandma and I have always been close. I have always felt special in her eyes. I would even go as far as to say I am "the favorite" of all her grand kids. (Just a little joke we throw around in our family because I am the oldest and greatest of all the grand kids ;-) What I mean when I say I feel special is because when I have had really hard times in my life, she has always been there. When my parents divorced at the age of 5, I think she was super concerned for me. I remember moving in with her and living in her basement. I only went to school and lived with her, my mom, and sister for a part of the year, but I do remember not wanting to leave. When we did leave, I recall her telling me to call her anytime, night or day and she would be there. That still rings true to this day. I have called her many nights as late as 2 am in tears needing advice or comfort. She has ALWAYS answered the phone. When I have needed her, she without fail, comes to the rescue, she does this with all her grand kids. As a super independent latch key kid at 7 years of age, she would call almost daily to check up on me and make sure I was OK. Growing up, she has always been a huge part of my life. She hasn't missed one big event, or the small ones now that I come to think of it. Before I had kids, she would come to my soccer games to cheer her 25 year old granddaughter on. I have received random notes from her in the mail telling me how much she loves me. Back when I said she is there for all of her grand kids, she really is. Rain or shine, failure or success, disappointments or triumphs- she will take us just as we are, casting no judgement. She tries her very best to make everything fair and equal.She also taught me the that every person has value and is worth a second look. Kathy has spent most of her life caring for people with disabilities, including her own daughter. She has been such an example to me when it comes to first appearances in others. We worked together for a group home company and I watched in admiration as she treated others with such respect and love. It was second nature for her and I wanted to be like that too. I feel that because I was taught and shown how you appropriately treat people who seem different, I have learned to be more accepting and loving to those that are different from me, including my own children!
How lucky am I to have such a young and vibrant woman in my life! How lucky are my kids? They are dang lucky. Johnny and Char have been spending alot of time recently with my grandparents and it is my hope that because Kathy is so young, she will be around for a very long time so that my kids will not only remember what memories they are making with her now, but that they will be able to make the kind of memories that I have made and continue to make with her. She is so sweet and dear to them. They sleep over at her home, know where all the toys and books are, play on the in ground tramp that I used to jump on, Johnny has even been camping with them and I am sure Char will also share this same memory.
I love my grandma. What an amazing woman she truly is. It's people like her in my life that make the difference. She knows how to be honest and open with me, even if it's something I wouldn't want to hear. A couple weeks ago, I was at her home and she was telling me how sorry she is that I got the same body type from her and that we will always have to work on our weight. Driving home after I left, all I could think was " I am so glad that being a little stout is not all I got from her." In some of the darkest times of my life, Kathy has been there and been a realistic and honest lifeline to me. If I have to take being her body type to be like her, I will take all the other great things about her too. She too, has been through alot, and it means the world to me when she shares her experiences and down falls so that I might learn from them. Thank you Grandma. Thank you for always being here for me and making me feel like I am your only and favorite grandchild. You mean more to me that words can possibly be said, but it is my hope that someday, very very far in the distant future, went you leave this earth and continue on- that you will know how much you have meant to me and always will, you are my inspiration!
