Grandma and I walking along Lake Lure
This isn't like one of my normal blogs, but I had been thinking about her lately, and wanted to write something. This fall marks 20 years since my sweet Grandma passed away. Margaret Louise (went by Louise) Sears was my dad's mother, and lived from 1928 to 2000. She was probably always my favorite family member, and although I was only 15 when she died, she made a huge impact on my life while she was here.
Grandma was an amazing person who was full of life. She was married to my Grandpa Pete for 47 years. She worked at a local store called Bumgarner's, and would always bring me new copies of the Bearesnstein Bear series, which they sold there. She was an avid reader, always with a book in her hand. Maybe that's where I got it from?? ;) She attended Dudley Shoals Baptist Church every Sunday and worked in the church library. She was often seen in a pretty plaid top, perfectly ironed pants, and large, colorful earrings.
I have a lot of great memories of her....
I remember Sunday afternoons after church having lunch at her house. Then the adults would watch sports on tv and I would slip away to the bedroom to take a nap. (I loved naps since an early age ;)
I remember her making homemade cakes and other baked goods for every occasion. She was the greatest cook in the world, and I'm not kidding about that. She would send me holiday cookies she had made, even on small holidays like Valentine's Day.
I remember spending the night at her house with my little brother. Whenever we were over there, I would drive her crazy playing pretend. She would often find my dolls in her dryer "taking a nap" or her kitchen rearranged when I was playing "store." I had the best time while I was there. She would often make us waffles in the mornings and Alex and I would fill up every little square with syrup.
I remember holidays being a big deal to her. She loved to decorate, and she loved Martha Stewart. She had a formal living room that was filled with fancy furniture and décor, and lots of breakable things. She didn't like us to be in there without her. She would decorate every inch of the place for Christmas, and we would open gifts in that living room. She hung up two very large stocking for me and Alex, and filled them up for us.
I remember her being a very sentimental person. She kept a box full of greeting cards people would send her. And she had a big collection of photos also. I liked to sit at her house and browse through the boxes. To this day, I keep boxes full of things like that at my house. My mom and husband probably think I'm a hoarder, but it brings me a lot of joy and reminds me of her. She also handmade me a quilt and stitched our names into it. She made it in 1999, just a year before she passed. I kept it on my bed for the longest time, but then had to retire it because it was literally falling apart.
I remember her starting me collections of really nice dolls and figurines. We would always look through the American Girl doll catalogs together. She bought me several of the dolls. She also bought me the fancy, porcelain collectible dolls and porcelain music boxes that my mom tried to keep away from me so I wouldn't break them. Now that she has passed, my mom has passed on a lot of her household items to me that I keep in my own house, like cookie jars, music boxes, and decorative plates.
Unfortunately, later on in life, she developed Lou Gehrigs disease, also knows as ALS. I know there was a lot of information and money raised in the past few years for ALS. It is a horrible neurological disease that attacks your muscles and joints, and makes you weak and makes it hard to walk and do daily activities. I remember my parents talking about it, and saying things like she was getting too weak to do her grocery shopping. I didn't think much of it at the time, because I was a self-centered teenager, but I now know how horrible it was, and I hate she had to suffer like she did.
Ill never forget the day my mom told me she had passed away. I was devastated. I remember watching my Grandpa call people to tell them about her passing, and watching him start to break down. I never ever saw that with him. I remember looking over on the bookshelf and seeing her thick silver-framed glasses just sitting there. I remember the exact dress I was wearing on the day to the funeral, it was my long flowered one with the matching blue cardigan. I remember the song I was listening to in my bedroom while I was getting ready, and to this day, everytime I hear it I think of her. I remember having to say goodbye. It was so very hard.
So now it has been 20 years since she has been gone, and I still miss her greatly. Unfortunately Arnold and the kids never got to meet her. They would have thought she was an amazing woman, and I know she would have loved them, too. Maybe by now you've realized that Rachel's middle name is Louise, and yes that was after Grandma. I always wanted our kids middle names to be something special. Brooke already had my middle name.. so when I was pregnant with another daughter, I couldn't think of any better middle name for her. The night I told my parents we were having a girl.. I told them her name would be "Rachel Louise." I think that really made my dad happy :) I like telling Rachel about her, and I know she will live up to her name :)
This is her wedding invitation, I have one framed and sitting in my china cabinet with lots of other decorative items.
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