Five minute Friday-On distance

Distance.

It always seemed so far to drive to visit my grandparents, as they lived about two hours north of us.

There was always something else pressing, another to-do on the calendar.

And then, a little over two years ago, just before Christmas, after having to move into a nursing home/rehab center with my grandfather, my grandmother passed away.

The distance is too great now to visit.

She would have been 99 years old today.

I am so very sorry I didn’t take more time to visit. She was so amazingly talented and delightfully interesting: she wrote, she crafted, she painted. As kids, we spent summers in Northern Vermont, taking turns a week at a time, just having a ball being just one or two siblings as opposed to the seven of us at home, being encouraged, treated and loved. So very loved.

I am so grateful for her inheritance of craftiness, of thrift, of sharing, of loving my family, and especially of writing.

I have no doubt that in Heaven she is still so very busy, sharing her talents with others.

Thank you Gram, love you lots, and a very happy birthday that transcends the distance from my heart to yours.

Five minutes are up.
Done.

Grampa and Gram on their 40th anniversary

But wait-I’m not really done. I know I say that to myself every week, and have to resist the mighty temptation to add and edit, but this week there is something different about that statement. I feel absolutely compelled to continue, and now that door has been opened, I humbly request your indulgence for just a few more minutes.

I did write about her here, but in honor of her birthday, I would like to share a little more about who she was and how she lived her life, and how it is all so woven into my mom, me and my two daughters.

Thrift? Gram lived through the Depression and had Scottish blood. Need I say more? I see this trait in all of us, and our youngest has recently delighted and surprised us with her ability to turn an older garment into a fresh work of wonder. Without having ever been taught how to sew. I can hear Gram chuckling over it now.

Faith? I never realized what a true servant of Christ Gram was until I attended her memorial service. She worked at walking the talk, and I just wish she could see how Keith and I are walking that same path, learning about the joy to be found in our faith.

Creativity? My mom inherited Gram’s creative gene, even though she pooh-poohs her talents, and she encouraged creative pursuits in all seven of us kids. I often wonder how she kept her sanity through it all. She taught me to sew and to do so much else, for which I am eternally grateful. Thanks, Mom!

Craftiness? Gram could take most anything and make it bloom into something else. Mom once gave her a bolt of bright green wool, and Gram made ornaments (about 100 a year for her annual Christmas Cards) from it for several years in a row, crafting slippers, scarves, mittens, etc as an amusing series. Our oldest daughter took that gift of craftiness and applied it to her wedding bouquet, which she created from felt and Gram’s button collection. (Alexis’ amazing pet photography and blog can be seen at her site, Alexis Hall Photo.)

Button monograms and felt flowers © Alexis Hall Photo

 Writing? Gram wrote three family histories, composed sermons when she served as a lay minister for her church, and kept family camp scrapbooks, recording memories going back about 40 years.  I have inherited her gift, and for that I am eternally grateful. After finishing a post this week titled “On being sugared off”,  I emailed the link to my mom. I noted that I thought Gram would have gotten a real charge out of how I compared us to sap of the maple tree and the process of sugaring, since she was an avid fan of real Vermont maple syrup. I said that I could hear Gram laughing over the post, and would exclaim in her inimitable way, “Oh my land!”

My land, indeed. My home, my past, present and future tied so inextricably and woven so tightly to Gram and the amazing lady she was.