A Wednesday list...(in memoriam)

December can feel like being on an express train  -- decorating, gift buying, parties, concerts, movies, traditions, travel. We want to simultaneously slow down and sip hot chocolate in front of our fireplace while gazing contemplatively out at gently falling snow, no obligations in sight; and also wring every last drop of fun and memory-making and glittery sequins out of the Holiday season. But some years, a shift in perspective is forced upon us...

Jeremy's grandmother passed away this week. She was 101 years old. Isn't that amazing? To be honest, I find the idea of living that long pretty exhausting, but think about the perspective one would have living that much life. GG (as the great-grandkids called her) was a teenager during the Great Depression. Her husband had polio. She was a young adult during World War II, and saw her son-in-law off to Vietnam. Telephones to cell phones. Typewriters to computers. Washing clothes by hand to having an automatic washing AND drying machine in your home. Television. 

I didn't know GG very well but from what I did know of her  and what I have learned about her through stories and memories, is that she was a picture of steadiness, faithfulness, toughness, joy, generosity, and fierce love. I wonder if living so much life helped give GG the kind of clarity it takes to live a life that isn't necessarily flashy, but one that impacts generations. 

In honor of GG, this week's list of thoughts is four memories I have of this quietly remarkable woman:

1. She was a gardener -- and I mean, she had a big, store-it-up-for-winter kind of garden. Even when she couldn't manage the garden herself and got help from her daughter, she was actively did what she could to be involved.  I even have pictures from this past June of her shelling peas with my kiddos. 

2. She loved the Dallas Cowboys. Every Sunday you could find her parked in front of her t.v. watching "her boys."

3. She made some of the best peanut brittle I've ever had. In fact, Christmas Eve at her house was a snack-lovers feast: millionaires, peanut brittle, pecan brittle, chocolate dipped peanut butter balls, cookies, peanut butter chocolate chex mix, original chex mix. Everyone else brought the savory snacks, but the sweets were GG's specialty.

4. She LOVED her grandkids and great-grandkids. Anytime one of her grandkids or great-grandkids would walk in the door her eyes would light up. 

Thank you GG for leaving such a legacy of love and faithfulness. Your peace and rest are well-deserved, but there is no doubt you will be missed.