Friday, June 30, 2006

Grandma's gone.

I got a call this morning that my dad's mom passed away about 8 a.m. at age 96. It was fairly quick and somewhat sudden, though she was recovering from some unexpected surgery. I was incredibly lucky to have had her in my life for 41 years. Grandma taught me to crochet as a child, a lifelong gift, and had recently helped me learn to knit. When I visited her in the hospital last Saturday I showed her the little yellow baby sweater I just finished. She got a huge smile on her face when I handed it to her. She looked it over carefully, felt over the ribbing and the stitches, and turned to me and said, "That's just fine, dear. That's just fine."

From Grandma, that meant it was perfect. I could not possibly have asked for more.

She taught me to cook all kinds of fancy Sephardic foods and put up with my frequent phonecalls for cooking advice. We discussed politics together, read the same books and talked about them. We were always lending each other books. She was a sharp, intelligent and well-read women with a great sense of humor.

This picture is from two months ago, as she was about to take my niece, her first great grandchild, in her arms:

6 comments:

Jen said...

Hugs, Valerie. It sounds like you have many special times with your grandmother. How wonderful to have those memories!

Earin Marybird said...

You are indeed fortunate to have had such a wonderful connection. I am so sorry. It sounds like she lived a full and long life. I love the picture of her. Such joy on her face.

Elinoire said...

I'm *so* pleased that you have so many wonderful memories of her and that she lives on, in a way, in your knitting. That is a great tribute to her, I think.

Anonymous said...

So sorry to hear of your loss. You have great memories. I treasure the knitting needles and stash I inherited from DH's grandmother. It was neat to to be able to make my nephew a Christmas stocking from her yarn and needles, when she had made the other family members stockings. I am admiring a lot of calla lily yarn in blogland.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to read about your Grandma. Sounds like she made quite an impact on your life--what a blessing! I love the photo of her--what a happy look on her face.

Anonymous said...

Sad news, and yet a joy to read your memories. From the picture it looks like she was truely enjoying life until the end.