For all time...

January 15, 2012 - Today I lost one of the most influential people in my life.  My heart has been bound to hers since the day I was born and will remain so for all time.  Godspeed Grommie.  What I'd give to share just one more eskimo kiss with you.

Repost from January 2011.

A Letter To My Grandmother On The Occasion Of Her 90th Birthday...

Happy, happy birthday to my Grandmoma, my Granny Hot-Rod, my Grommie and my friend. Throughout my life you have been a constant source of support and an inspiration. I was your first Grandchild - and a girl for you to love after raising those boys.  

Our hearts were immediately bound together.

My life has been filled with fabulous Grandmoma times; trips to Seven Seas, Lion Country Safari and Six Flags. 

Waking up all snug and happy at your house on summer mornings to a special breakfast of fried eggs, sausage patties and your fabulous homemade chocolate milk. 

And oh how I loved sharing “eskimo kisses” with you.  They were the best.

Those lazy summer days we spent in Granbury with Ma Maw and Pa Paw playing on the lake swimming and fishing. Being a kid with you was fun!

Then I became a teen-ager and even though I was a silly young-girl you always listened to me and treated me as if whatever drama was going on in my life at the time were important.

I am so thankful for the time time we spent together after Jim’s accident. As difficult as that time was it gave us the opportunity to share our hearts with one another in a way we never had before. I can remember sitting in the living room sharing stories of joy and heartbreak and getting to know you through the eyes of a adult rather those of a child. That experience brought us even closer and bound our hearts even tighter.

And, of course, let’s not forget a few years later when you took not only me but my shaggy dog in to your home. You not only fed and cared for both of us but loved us when we were very often difficult to love. During that time I experienced a broken heart and you supported me, shared my tears and helped me heal.

The years since then have passed so quickly. As a family we have celebrated new lives and been forced to say goodbye as other lives have ended. We have experienced incredible joy and unthinkable sorrow along the way and through it all our hearts remain firmly bound to one another. For this I say thank you. Thank you for loving me and for allowing me to share this special bond with you. The influence your love has had on my life lives firmly inside my heart - as does my love for you.