To My Grandmother Mamae

Life continues to move on. I listen to my daughter and her 'health nurse' sitting in the living room as my daughter asks her questions about her pregnancy. As a woman on her 33rd week of pregnancy, she has been dealing with 'those nasty Braxton-Hicks' but still dealing with nausea and leg cramps. Victoria is almost here and I seriously can not wait! My daughter will be a good mother, great individual and a strong woman.

Speaking of strong women, today is my Mamae's 104th birthday. I've decided to honor her by letting everyone know how much she means to me. She is my maternal grandmother who I have always wanted to meet; alas she passed before I was born. I've always wanted to be able to go spend the night over at Grandma's house like my other friends who have had wonderful memories of being with their grandparents. The more older I get, the more I realize how important having grandparents in your life is. How they don't have to become the disciplinarian, how they can form strong bonds offriendship on a level that no one can break. My mother and my daughter are the best of friends. (My daughter tells me that they are and my mother agrees). I didn't get to know Mamae on a personal level, I hear stories of the things she used to do, her style, her cooking (and I hear her cooking skills could rival with the likes of Julia Child) and how loving and comforting she would make her children feel. Yes, I have heard she was very possessively kind with her children, (a very loving woman). She loved animals. She had a Corgi dog decades ago which I heard that the animal was a force to be reckon with. But still, she loved the dog. And obviously the dog loved her. I could imagine how easy it would be to fall in love with my grandmother. I could imagine her being with me although I have always felt her presence since I was a little girl.

Imagine sitting here having a lovely conversation over a cup of coffee with her asking as many questions that time would allow for us to be together...or just looking at her beautifully youthful face while tears well up in my eyes...or introducing the inventions that she never got to be influenced by since her untimely death. Of course, I would love to show her the internet. She would have loved to google the latest recipes or build her own website (after a while of internet-experience) about cooking with a few ingredients to 'How to host a dinner'. I miss her although I have never met her. (It might sound strange but its a feeling I've always had). And I think she would have wanted to meet me. I wonder if she had a french accent, her daily disposition and what made her tick. I wonder of so many things about her but I see them through my mother: the youthful gene that my mother possesses, the love that 'no matter what, I will always love you, even if you are wrong' attitude and bending over backwards to make sure you get what you need done. That is my family and I continue to honor Mamae by being the best grandmother I know she would want me to be. Happy birthday, Mamae. I love you so...