Dear Gran,

You left us today, and while it was time and you were more than ready to see Grandpa again, we are hurting. Mom spent the night beside your bed, did you know? I was there until very late, but she wouldn’t let me stay, and you know I had to be home for my kids. I think she needed to be alone with you too, and I respect that. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there when you went to see Grandpa early this morning, but I know you heard me say goodbye last night, and felt me kiss your cheek. Pass that on to him too, will you? Even after 26 years I still miss him so much. A testament to how much love we have in our family.

We lost Grandpa when I was fairly young, and I remember how hard it was for me back then. It’s different now, of course. I am older, perhaps wiser, and have had the benefit of your company for my whole life, so I can appreciate your years, and be amazed at how you lived almost 100 of them, even as I quietly miss you. You were such a feisty lady, and I have so many wonderful memories of you (some of which involve dancing on the table, which my kids still can’t wrap their heads around).

Who can comprehend the marvel of you? When you were born at home that chilly evening in September of 1911, you weighed just over a pound, and they wrapped you in oiled cotton, put you in a matchbox, and set you on the door of the wood stove, never expecting you to survive the night. Survive you did though! You outlived all of your brothers and sisters, your husband, and every single friend you ever made as a vibrant, funny lady.

The mischievous side of you lives on in me, and in my children, although I doubt we will ever come close to the character you were. I am so glad you lived long enough for my kids to know and remember your embrace. I wish they had known Grandpa and what a wonderful man he was. He would have just loved my family, as you have all these years.

I will cherish the blankets, baby clothes, doll clothes and dish cloths you knit for us all over the years. I will cherish my mother, who was your only child, and I will cherish the memory of you, which will forever live in our hearts.

Love always,
Jenn