My Grandma Lucy was a mighty remarkable woman. She was a 5 ft nothing ball of sass who gave birth to, and raised 12 children. She buried two husbands, a daughter, and a grandson all long before their times were due, yet she persevered, and in February celebrated her 90th birthday with a smile on her face.
If you’d ask my grandma how she survived all this, she would say, “God would never give me more than I can handle.” I don’t know if that was what she actually believe, or if she was just too stubborn to ever admit defeat, but either way, she handled it all right.
I never knew my grandma as a married woman, she’d been the head of the family for a long while by the time I came around. I grew up knowing Grandma was the boss. She took pride in keeping her up her home, yard and garden. If you were at Grandma’s you helped. There were always babies to watch, beans to pick or laundry to hang. She loved teaching the grandkids about all our large family. She made sure everyone knew who belonged to who, how old they were, what they were doing with their life and any trouble they had gotten into. She insured that we all knew Jesus loved us, angels were watching over us, and kindness towards everyone was most important.
Everyone was special, everyone was welcomed, and everyone had to eat. She made sure everyone else had what they needed; herself always the last to eat, sit, and sleep. There was never a lot, but she used the skills life taught her by cleaning houses and catering events to make ends meet. Nothing went to waste, and she’d squeeze every bit of life out of whatever she had, and she’d find use out of things other people had forgotten.
She was happiest when her family was around her; playing, laughing, and eating. She’d sing to the birds as she worked in the garden, knowing that they would always sing back. She’d dream of winning the lottery. She got joy out of planning how she’d divide money and all the different ways she’d be able to help everyone. She loved spoiling her grandchildren with sweet treats and watching old movies. But above all else, she adored babies. It wasn’t until I was older and saw how her face lit up when she’d meet a new grandbaby, that I realized just how much she loved children. You’d think she would be over it. So many years of her life spent pregnant, changing diapers, cleaning messes and whipping tears, but nothing made grandma smile more than holding one of her babies’ babies. God gave Grandma more than any human should be able to handle, but Grandma took all that hardship and chaos and turned it into an ever growing family that surround her with support, laughter, and Love.
I know Grandma would say she won.
If you’d ask my grandma how she survived all this, she would say, “God would never give me more than I can handle.” I don’t know if that was what she actually believe, or if she was just too stubborn to ever admit defeat, but either way, she handled it all right.
I never knew my grandma as a married woman, she’d been the head of the family for a long while by the time I came around. I grew up knowing Grandma was the boss. She took pride in keeping her up her home, yard and garden. If you were at Grandma’s you helped. There were always babies to watch, beans to pick or laundry to hang. She loved teaching the grandkids about all our large family. She made sure everyone knew who belonged to who, how old they were, what they were doing with their life and any trouble they had gotten into. She insured that we all knew Jesus loved us, angels were watching over us, and kindness towards everyone was most important.
Everyone was special, everyone was welcomed, and everyone had to eat. She made sure everyone else had what they needed; herself always the last to eat, sit, and sleep. There was never a lot, but she used the skills life taught her by cleaning houses and catering events to make ends meet. Nothing went to waste, and she’d squeeze every bit of life out of whatever she had, and she’d find use out of things other people had forgotten.
She was happiest when her family was around her; playing, laughing, and eating. She’d sing to the birds as she worked in the garden, knowing that they would always sing back. She’d dream of winning the lottery. She got joy out of planning how she’d divide money and all the different ways she’d be able to help everyone. She loved spoiling her grandchildren with sweet treats and watching old movies. But above all else, she adored babies. It wasn’t until I was older and saw how her face lit up when she’d meet a new grandbaby, that I realized just how much she loved children. You’d think she would be over it. So many years of her life spent pregnant, changing diapers, cleaning messes and whipping tears, but nothing made grandma smile more than holding one of her babies’ babies. God gave Grandma more than any human should be able to handle, but Grandma took all that hardship and chaos and turned it into an ever growing family that surround her with support, laughter, and Love.
I know Grandma would say she won.