About a year...

It's quickly approaching - the one-year mark of the passing of Grandma Great.  Some days it feels like she has been gone forever and other days it seems like I was just talking to her as we enjoyed a block of Kraft sharp cheese and saltines.   It seems like it took about six months for it to really bother me that she was gone.  There have been moments this summer where I really, really missed being able to tell her something.   Here are a few examples...

When I learned that Lane won Grand Champion Barrow Overall at the Martinsville fair, and had done so, almost entirely on his own because Jay and I were both at work, without thinking, my first thought was, I have to tell Grandma Great...and then it dawned on me that I couldn't.  I was just going into court and when it hit me, that I could not go tell her after work, I got that lump in my throat.  Ugh.  Then, as Jay and I always do, we try to imagine what she would say and mimic her saying it.  I'm guessing she would have probably said something like, "Oh, that sweet thang, bless his little heart."

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Madolyn played in her very first piano recital this summer having practiced for the last ten months on Grandma's prized piano.  Again, the lump in the throat...Grandma Great would've beamed with pride.

Now a fifth grader, Lane was given the opportunity to pick an instrument to learn and join band.  Of course, I was thinking one of two things, 1) there is no way the Bud is going to play in the band; and 2)  I bet he picks the drums.  And of course, I was wrong on both counts.  The Bud did want to play in the band and the Bud chose the Trumpet as his instrument of choice.  Heaven help us, he loves that thing.  I cracked up on the inside because I think it's hilarious and instantly thought, oh my, Grandma Great would get a kick out of this for sure.  She would cackle and slap her knee...and probably ask me how in the world he got hooked on the trumpet.  Who knows - would most certainly be my response.

Last week in the local newspaper there was a picture of Lane playing football.  She was notorious for cutting out newspaper clippings, making a notation on them and storing them away in the dresser drawer located in the west bedroom.  Again, it hit me that she won't be saving that newspaper clipping...

Jay is training for an Ultra running race in November.  It's insane.  We all agree.  (Sometimes I think he does too.)  I can just see her leaning down with her hands on her thigh, looking me in the eye and asking, "What is wrong with him?" and then laughing because even she loved Jay and his crazy ideas.

We had our annual Kannmacher reunion a couple weeks ago.  Last year Grandma attended and we had some family pictures taken.  I'm so thankful that we got that picture with her before she got real bad.  We were few in numbers at the reunion and I missed not filling her plate and taking her picture as she visited with her nieces.

Madolyn and my two nieces, Liz and Caitlin, are playing volleyball together this year and will be on the court all at once.  She would've been very proud of her great-granddaughters playing for the Bluestreaks and would've asked me for the low-down on every game.

I could go on and on...

I sure miss that spunky 'ole gal.