My Mother's parents both passed away before my Mom was very old and she was raised by her grandmother, my Great-Grandma Ruby (pictured in the bottom photo cooking with unidentified male). I can vaguely remember my Great-Grandma and my sisters and I just called her Grandma Ruby; it did not register with us for many years that although we knew our Mom's mother was dead that Grandma Ruby was actually our Great-Grandma. I can mostly remember her being a very tiny woman who was a lot of fun to be around. I can remember bowls of candy on her side tables and doilies all over the place, and she cooked - all the time.
My Mother's mother is pictured in the the black and white photo off to the side with my mother, aunt, and uncle as children. The story I can recall being told about her death is that my Aunt I. was caught in the ocean and my Grandmother and Grandfather went out to save her. My Grandmother did not make it and my Grandfather and Aunt were in the hospital for awhile - my Grandfather longer then my Aunt. After this incident my Grandfather left his three children with his mother and father and eventually passed away within a couple of years. (I'm not sure of those facts as I can recall the story being told to me many years and it is just something we didn't/don't discuss in our family.)
The above photo is a picture of my Father's mother with my older sister and me. I carry her first name as my middle name so I have always felt a sort of closer kinship with her. I can remember her being tall and stately and it was a shock to see her as I grew older and suddenly she seemed smaller. She was a big smoker and when her health started to decline and she had to quit she also started gaining weight and the image in my mind is still overridden today with images of her being a tall stately grandmother who loved watching college football. I can remember looking through our family photos and finding one of her doing a handstand in the backyard and that is an image I carry close to my heart even today.
I often wonder how my life would have been affected if we had lived closer to our grandparents and gotten to know them even better. I was often jealous of my Uncle's children and how they knew our Great-Grandmother so well. I thank God every day that my daughter is able to know and love her grandparents.
I strive hard to make sure she knows all of her Grandparents by making them a large part of our life even though thousands of miles may separate us. We are always in touch via e-mail and teleconference several times. My parents live close enough they are able to come up and visit and my husband's parents take the time to come visit as often as they can. My daughter has photo albums of family members that we go through almost weekly, daily before trips to visit them. We did this enough that the last visit we had she knew her Great-Grandma B. was and was able to go up and give her a hug and call her Grandma. This made her Great-Grandma's day as she is able to see my daughter so infrequently, yet my daughter knew who she was.
Exactly what I want for my family. A connection that lasts and makes an impression!
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