Thursday, October 18, 2012

grandma goldie

dear emily,

i have written about the precious legacy of my two grandmothers, one was
truth and the other grace.   grandma goldie was grace.   she affirmed every
atom in my being and let me read as long as i wanted.   she never said, "you
need to get outside and get some excercise."

the day of her funeral was one of the loneliest of my life.   i kept looking
for her to comfort me, but she wasn't there.   as a 38 year old woman, i sat
in a sunday school chair by myself and cried myself sick.

fortunately, i get glimpses of her in my daughters from time to time, and i
am grateful to the Lord for "His mercies are new every morning." (lam. 3:23)

in the sleepy colorado town that we love, we dug a large pond and were
told to name it.   so we did:

GOLDIE'S POND


once i was shopping in aspen and stumbled into a heavenly store:



thank you, Lord, for sweet memories,
lea

17 comments:

http://bitsandpieces-sonja.blogspot.com/ said...

Oh how I loved this Lea! I got tears thinking of you sitting in that chair, and me, sitting in the pew at my own dad and then a year later, my mom's memorial services. They were also truth and grace to me. I was just talking to my sister 10 minutes ago and we were both saying how strong our mother was, and how we feel like feathers in the wind some days by comparison. God doesn't compare any of us, He just loves us. I'm so glad... I loved this blog my friend!

Rondalahonda said...

Precious! I miss my two grandmothers so much!

June said...

Oh my goodness lea, I got chills reading this. I was never very close to either of my grandmothers and know that I missed out on so much. Because of that, I have worked hard to be the kind of gram your Goldie was. I hope I am succeeding at it.
Loved your best friend post. LOVED IT!
hugs...

Darcie said...

What a beautiful post! How beautiful that you see glimpses of your Grandma in your daughter. Those that have gone on...never really leave us, do they?

Farm Girl said...

So very sweet. I don't know what I would have done without my grand mother in my life after my Mom died. She was such a wonderful gift to me. My great grand mother lived next to her so with them both I was very blessed.
I don't mean this to sound disrespectful, but we raised show cattle, I delivered a calf and I went on to show him, he was beautiful and my last steer and his name was Goldie. I spent so much time with him and when I saw the name on that store I just loved it. I love that you had a grand mother named Goldie and I love the name of your pond.

Patrinas Pencil said...

Loved this...
I love hearing stories about grandmas that were present. Their enduring strength and love helped raise generations! Unfortunately, I didn't grow up with grandparents involved in my life. It is a sad loss for me...when I see the relationship between my own children and their grandparents. I really feel I missed out on something real precious.

Carry on dear lea :)

patrina <")>><

Debbie said...

Oh I loved this...brought back sweet memories for me with my Gram. How I miss her!

Joan Elizabeth said...

At 38 I lost my dear mother and felt the kind of loss you describe. I still think of Mum and Dad ever so often. I often think of how much they would have enjoyed our lovely home ... made possible in part from the inheritance they left.

Your Colorado shot looks so wonderful. What a shame I no longer visit that part of the world like I used to.

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

Precious....at both of my grandmother's I spent most of my time out in nature, so even the breeze reminds me of them. The bond I hold with one is we both had four boys and one girl..she didn't have the fifth boy, but to the day she passed she joked she should have...I miss her a lot.

So glad the Lord gave you so many natural things to remember your grandmother's by...

Cinnamon said...

So sweet! What lovely memories.

~Cinnamon

Vee said...

Ahhhhhh...sweet memories and such a beautiful pond. It seems to fit its name. It makes me smile that she let you read as much as you wanted without admonishments about fresh air and exercise.

Travel With Lulu said...

What a clever name for the pond. Lucky you, you carry so many wonderful memories of her. Such a love letter for Emily :)

Joan Elizabeth said...

I've been thinking about your relationship with your grandma and wondering why mine was not close. Apart from the fact that we didn't live nearby I think she might have been worn out with grandmothering, I was her 24 grandchild and there were 15 more after me!

myletterstoemily said...

joan: 39 grandchildren would wear
out a saint!

Unknown said...

What a beautiful post! Grandma's are so special!!! What a blessing for you to have such a deep connection with yours.

Susy said...

I'm always a little sad that I didn't have a big family with grandparents and lots of cousins ~ but always enjoy hearing about others who did. I'm counting your blessings for you (:
xo

Single and Sane said...

What a blessing to have the kind of relationship you had with your grandmothers. That's a special bond.