Grandmas are the best!!

Remember your favorite grandma when you were a kid, the one who spoiled you rotten, had the warmest hugs, the pillowy bosom, the comfiest bed? She made the best *insert food item here* (in my case, it was Grandma Alyce's cinnamon buns, yummmmm), sang you songs with her lovely voice, let you do whatever you wanted, and always surrounded you with her comforting presence. I've always known my kids were lucky to have 3 special "Grammas" (Granny Hag, Gramma DeeDee, and Gramma Niki - or Mickey as Lena used to say) and it hit me, as Mom and I were going through Grandma Alyce's memory box, just how special they all are, in their own ways.

Grandma DeeDee, I can remember being a kid and thinking you were the Coolest. Grandma. Ever. Period! With your convertible corvette, the eternal tan, the silver hair, the gold sliver in your tooth (and I think you even had a little diamond stud in there at one time, or am I imagining that?), the stylish clothes. When we got to see you, it was like Christmas. We were so excited! Nowadays, the corvette and the gold tooth are gone, but the excitement remains. Gramma DeeDee always has that huge box of "vintage" toys (I say vintage because some of them are still around from my childhood!); the hugest, most comfiest bed in the world that we all make excuses just so we can go lay on it ("I ate too much, I need to lay down"). When I was a young mom and going through some tough times, Gramma DeeDee was always there for me. When it was freezing cold outside, she'd show up in the wee hours of the morning to drive me to work, so I wouldn't have to walk those six blocks by myself in the dark. When I had loads and loads of laundry, she would let me use her washer & dryer (even though it took hours to get it all done) so I wouldn't have to use the laundromat. One time I found myself in the utterly humiliating position of having to ask for a temporary loan until payday, because my last cent had just went to rent and the baby had no diapers. All this she did for me with no hesitation at all, no questions asked, no judgement or 'helpful' advice, just with pure unconditional love in her heart. Everyone should be so lucky to have a special woman like this in their life.

Grandma Niki, it was always a special treat to go to your house when we were kids. (Because Grandma lived so far away, it wasn't often that we got to see her and Grandpa Ray.) Your house was like a treasure trove of interesting, cool stuff. Us kids would spend hours downstairs, looking at the black-and-white pictures of Grandpa Ray when he was a water-bomber pilot, scaring the bejeebus out of little Levi with the wolf pelt ("Hey Levi, come downstairs, we want to show you something!"), hiding in the little space under the stairs whenever the parents would call for us. Grandma Niki had the nicest dogs, loyal steadfast German Shepherds that would let us pet them (you know that over-eager way kids pet, its more like PET, PET, PET as the dog silently prays for you to stop). Grandma Niki knew of my secret love of Harlequin novels and would pick up boxes and boxes for me, keeping them at her house until we came to visit and then "secretly" giving them to me. She knew I couldn't get enough of them, but was embarrassed for anyone to know, hence the reason for secrecy. And us kids always thought it was so cool that Grandma collected owl figurines, of all shapes and sizes. This certainly made it easy for us to get her Christmas gifts, because we knew no matter how ugly or awkwardly-made, Grandma would always ooh-and-ahh over them like they were the best gifts ever!

And so now we come to the next generation, my children, and they have their Granny Hag. I cannot even begin to explain how special you are to my kids, Mom. You are the sun in their sky, the joy in their hearts. They know that when they are with you, they are the most special, wonderful, beautiful grandchildren ever. You make them feel like they are the centre of your universe, as they feel like you are the centre of theirs. There is nothing more exciting than getting to spend the night with Gramma. At Gramma's house they can eat messy food in your bed, splash around in the tub for as long as they want, gorge themselves on chocolate chips and mini marshmallows, drink 'nectar' from their special cups, watch cartoons all day long... Gramma brings crayons and coloring books to the arena when she comes to watch Gunnar, not to mention their "arena money" just for gumballs and taco-in-a-bag. Gramma buys them Kinder Surprises (which Mommy always says no to), just in exchange for a kiss. Gramma has Gameboys and Nintendo DS's at her house with "tons of games", just for when they come over. And each child has their very own pillow and blanket, for when they all crowd into Gramma's bed at the end of the night. I could go on and on with all the many ways you show just how much you love and appreciate them, but I'll short out Gunnar's laptop if I cry on it anymore.

So everyone reading this, take a moment to remember those special Grammas, and please, please, if you are lucky enough to still have them in your life, let them know it!