Goodbyes and Great Memories

I had a very reflective week this week because my wonderful Grandmother passed away. She was hands down the MOST AMAZING mother I have ever known. She overcame many obstacles in her life. First of all she is the mother of 12 children. That's right 12. Not to mention 2 sets of twins and 7 girls. And she practically raised them on her own. My grandpa was a pilot in the air force. He fought in WWII, Vietnam, and the Koren war, so he was gone a lot over the those years. They moved throughout the US including Florida, Maine, California, and Washington as well as living in Germany. Trotting around the globe with all those kids could not have been easy, I get flustered just getting my two in the car. But she ran a tight household. She did not miss a thing. She knew where every single one of those kids were at any time of the day. And they knew not to cross her. She had dinner on the table every night and she always looked good doing it. She lost 6 of her children over the years and overcame breast cancer and a stroke.
She also has 12 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.

My fondest memories of her are spending time with her while she shared her favorite activities with me. We played cards, lots of cards, and several tries at teaching me to play bridge. She made the best sugar cookies for Christmas and always had a ton of decorating materials including sprinkles, red hots, and frosting in every color. She loved taking us to the movies or the zoo, and painting with us. (She was an amazing painter). She sewed every Christmas dress we wore for the first 10 years of my life, all matching my sister and cousins. She always had candy in her nightstand and pretended like she didn't know we would sneak in and eat it. She was always tough under pressure including the time I chased my brother into a wagon when he was 5 years old and he had to go to the emergency room. My grandma comforted me and let me know he would be okay. She always gave me a porcelain doll for Christmas. I collected them and loved each of them dearly as a girl. She had the most beautiful rose gardens and she loved pink roses. She taught me to make a pie. I love making pies and whenever I make one I think of my Grandma telling me, "don't touch the crust Jessie," and me questioning her, "how can I make the pie without touching the crust?" She was right. The oils in your fingers make the crust soggy so if you want a flaky crust touch it as little as possible.

I am so sad to see her move on but I know it is best for her. She was very weak and very old, now she is with Heavenly Father and can be her strong amazing self again. I love you Grandma Hazel and am so glad I had a grandmother to teach me how to me a wonderful mother in my life.