(Gigi and I at Burger King, back when Burger King was cool.)This weekend I went to Cincinnati for my grandmother’s memorial service. Even though I got a chance to say goodbye, it’s hard to believe she’s actually gone. She was such a vibrant woman who made no apologies for how wonderfully insane she could be. I hope I can earn the right to be like that when I’m a grandmother.
My family had the overwhelming task of cleaning out Gramps and Gigi’s condo. Gramps has moved into a nice little apartment, but he could not take everything with him. My grandparents have successfully been squirreling away things since the 1800’s. No joke. I now own a photo of some great-great-great-great relatives who lived in England. I also now own some of their clothes.
It was during the middle of cleaning on Saturday that it finally hit home that I wouldn’t see her again on this earth. I was cleaning out her closet with my cousins, Sally and Lynn. Gramps had asked that as we look through her clothes that we take anything we wanted. Well, there isn’t much in the wardrobe of an 80-year-old woman that appeals to her 20-year-old granddaughters, but we dutifully looked through each piece.
Halfway through the closet, Sally said, “Hey Beth, there’s a skirt in here that you may want. It’s kind of pretty and it’s long” (I’m the tallest female cousin.) I turned and looked at the skirt. It was a long, black skirt. Nothing special, and not really my style. I was about to turn and move on, when something caught my eye. At the bottom of the skirt there were little grey swirl designs. I started laughing, which earned a quizzical look from Sally….
My family had the overwhelming task of cleaning out Gramps and Gigi’s condo. Gramps has moved into a nice little apartment, but he could not take everything with him. My grandparents have successfully been squirreling away things since the 1800’s. No joke. I now own a photo of some great-great-great-great relatives who lived in England. I also now own some of their clothes.
It was during the middle of cleaning on Saturday that it finally hit home that I wouldn’t see her again on this earth. I was cleaning out her closet with my cousins, Sally and Lynn. Gramps had asked that as we look through her clothes that we take anything we wanted. Well, there isn’t much in the wardrobe of an 80-year-old woman that appeals to her 20-year-old granddaughters, but we dutifully looked through each piece.
Halfway through the closet, Sally said, “Hey Beth, there’s a skirt in here that you may want. It’s kind of pretty and it’s long” (I’m the tallest female cousin.) I turned and looked at the skirt. It was a long, black skirt. Nothing special, and not really my style. I was about to turn and move on, when something caught my eye. At the bottom of the skirt there were little grey swirl designs. I started laughing, which earned a quizzical look from Sally….
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