I know you would have loved to have heard your grandchildren’s voices yesterday. You always loved those phone calls, those visits. I remember the first time you held Parker and Anissa, your granddaughters’ first children, your great grandchildren. You were so surprised to see them and so very proud, just as you were so proud when your first grandchildren, Karissa and Katrina, were born. 

You were the best grandma. Always displaying their pictures in magnets on the fridge, their artwork on your end tables. Always showing the girls off at church when we came to visit and you had a knack for insisting they sing special music for services, for programs, for reunions. You took such care to provide the girls with pretty Easter dresses and Christmas dresses. You made sure they had a doll every Christmas when they were little. You hung their ornaments on your tree and if they ever broke anything in your home, it didn’t matter; it just added character. Your specialty was pancakes in specific shapes, and my girls looked forward to getting up and having breakfast with Grandma.  You were famous for your hugs. As you so eloquently put it many times, with a “Come here and let me squeeze your guts out!”, my girls looked forward to them and couldn’t wait to get to Grandma’s house. You made playdough for them. You collected TONS of “office paper” just so they could play “secretary” and “school” in the basement.  You took them garage sale-ing and gave them their own quarters so they could buy “junk,” since I was not a fan of garage sales. All of these memories were created because it was so important for the girls to grow up knowing their grandparents and having a relationship with them. You knew that importance, as did I.

You attended just about every volleyball and basketball game possible when they were in junior high, high school, and college, sitting in the stands with a bag of popcorn and a “Yahooooooo!” on the ready. You relished every minute of sitting at the table playing game after game after game with them and filling your home with laughter. When Karissa experienced one of the lowest points of her life, you and Dad were there to shelter her and protect her and pray for her and help her because her parents were not able. You fell in love with the girls’ choice in husbands and welcomed those two guys into the family from day one. There was never a shadow of a doubt that you loved your grandchildren, no matter what. I wish I still had pictures of you with the girls…but at least I have the memories. 

On Friday, we attended a memorial ceremony to honor you for willing your body to KU Medical School.  We were invited into this world of medical students, a world we had no idea existed. We were told that you were the first patient for a small team of students in the anatomy lab. We were told that no doctor ever forgets their first patient. We were told that because of your final gift, you will bless others through the hands of these doctors who are learning to treat and heal others. You will touch many lives through these new doctors who were so privileged to have you, Mom, as their first patient.

As we all sat in the auditorium and waited for the ceremony to begin, we quietly read the program that had been handed to each of us as we entered.  On the page, there were several quotes from medical students who had worked with the loved ones being honored that day, and as I read the following quote, the tears flowed.

And while it can be easy to get lost in the dissection, I want to let you know that I have not yet forgotten the humanity of the person who is teaching me. These are arms that have hugged, eyes that have cried, lips that have smiled, feet that have danced, ears that have listened, hands that have held, and hearts that have loved. — Errin Mitchell

This medical student had to have worked with you, Mom. I know she did. Because she described you in such detail.

Happy Grandparents Day, Mom. Thank you for your example of how to be the best grandma ever.