The world lost an amazing woman on October 4th TwoXChromosomes

You won't recognize her name, you didn't know her. She was never in the news but she was, nonetheless, an amazing woman. My grandmother. I'm speaking tomorrow at her funeral. I'd really like some input on what I've written, providing that it doesn't break any rules.

Thanks in advance.

When I got the call from my dad that things weren’t going well with Nanny I broke down. Seeing her in such a state was incredibly hard and for that, after her passing I feel, along with an overwhelming sense of grief, a sense of relief. This is a woman that has lived such an extraordinary life and I’m doing my best to celebrate that, instead of focusing purely on her death.

I mean, she saw 17 United States Presidents go through office, she lived through the Great Depression, playing with a handmade doll and cabbage after moving with her family to live with her grandparents. She lived through a World War, never quite getting over the idea of “Do with less so they’ll have enough.” Opening a plastic container in her refrigerator or freezer was always a mystery. You might have actually gotten butter in the butter container….or you may have gotten soup. The mindset of not needing to waste money or resources on things like that stuck with her for her entire life. She saw the invention of the television, the microwave, she had a model T car, of which she and her brothers decided to spruce up by painting each panel a different color. She saw a man walk on the moon, she saw the creation of the Peanuts comic strip.

In such a long life there were so many changes she needed to adapt to and while she didn’t necessarily get them the first time, she kept trying. She was never one to give up, even when she was trying to teach me how to sew using a sewing machine that I’m pretty sure is older than color TV.

Not only was she an amazing person but she was an amazing grandmother. She put up with quite a bit from my sister and I as we were growing up. We definitely weren’t the easiest kids to deal with but she was always there, ready to go onto the next adventure with us. Be it making an apartment in the space under her stairs in her basement, selling lemonade in her front yard, putting together a fashion show with the fabric remnants we found in her basement, or just spending time talking to her and learning about stories of her youth. Time with her was always precious.

She is survived by her family that is here today, but she is also survived by everyone else here because every one of you has been touched by her in some way. Your world was brighter because of her, and all we can do now is try to carry on that legacy, make the world brighter. Hug your loved ones a little tighter, do something kind for a stranger, and when you’re doing that know that you are help keeping her legacy and her memory alive. Thank you.

Submitted October 08, 2014 at 10:39PM by mandino788 http://ift.tt/1uBPuiv TwoXChromosomes