Today would have been my grandma’s 110th birthday if she were still living and even though she is gone she is still teaching me about life through how she lived her life.
1. Family is important. She was a mother of nine children and was the least stressed person that I know. She loved being surrounded by the ones she loved.
2. Nothing beats a home cooked meal especially when it includes home-made bread. She baked homemade bread almost daily when her family was young and then weekly. The meal was always eaten at the table not in front of the television. It was always the kids job to set the table properly and it was where we learned good table manners
3. Go with the flow. Whatever life sends your way make the most of it. She was widowed at the age of 59 and lived into her 90’s. I never heard a pity party come from her mouth.
4. Focus on what is truly important and don’t let the other stuff bother you. Once while talking to one of her daughters on the phone she kept talking while a bat circled her head. She just continued talking and took a swat at the bat every so often as it circled. She wasn’t going to let a small thing like a bat interrupt her time with her daughter who lived out-of-state.
5. Make time for play. Grandma loved to play cards. It was a big deal when you were old enough as a grandchild to join in with the adults playing cards. Oh the stories that were told around the table were some of the best first person history lessons.
6. Make time to laugh. Grandma loved a good story. I can still picture her with tears running down her face from laughter.
7. Make gifts personal. I still have a small cookbook that my grandma hand wrote her favorite recipes. Over the years she made several homemade gifts for each grandchild. I have a large granny square afghan that she crocheted for me, hand embroidered kitchen towel, one for each day of the week, and hand embroidered pillow cases for my bed.
8. Love those around you. When her children were young and her neighbor was quarantined because of some childhood disease in their neighborhood. Grandma would sneak over to her friend’s home to spend time helping her care for her children who were sick. Grandma was always willing to share. If she knew someone needed something, she was always ready to share.
9. Faith is important. Grandma always went to church and encouraged others to go as well. Her bible was always handy.
Flying Gma's Blog 
nrhatch
October 17, 2011 at 10:01 am
Thanks for sharing a glimpse of your grandma with us, Jeanne. Brought back some nice memories of my own ~ also born in October. 😀
flyinggma
October 17, 2011 at 10:45 pm
Happy to share memories of a dear one. She is someone I think of often and how she responded to life.
pearlsandprose
October 17, 2011 at 10:41 am
I found myself nodding at each one, Jeanne. My grandmother was so similar.Thanks for sharing and remindind me of my own grandma.
flyinggma
October 17, 2011 at 10:46 pm
My grandma showed love and care to others in so many ways but I think her favorite way was cooking. She and her sisters cooked and served all the food for my Mom and Dad’s wedding.
Todd Pack
October 17, 2011 at 1:09 pm
She sounds like a wonderful woman.
flyinggma
October 17, 2011 at 10:48 pm
She was a delightful person to spend time with no matter what you were doing. What amazed me more than anything was how smart she was. She only attended school through the eighth grade but she knew more than a lot of today’s high school graduates.
planejaner
October 17, 2011 at 1:35 pm
sounds to me as if she had her priorities in line. 🙂
love you, lady. Happy Grandma day.
Jane
flyinggma
October 17, 2011 at 10:49 pm
Thanks Jane. She did have her priorities in line. She is one I am so looking forward to seeing again when we meet in heaven. I miss her sweet smile.
Carol Ann Hoel
October 17, 2011 at 1:53 pm
Your family stories are always rich with charm and wisdom. I enjoyed your post. What a nice tribute to your grandmother. Blessings to you, Jeanne…
flyinggma
October 17, 2011 at 10:51 pm
I enjoy telling people about her and her simple but rich life and how she enriched the lives of others. Blessings to you, Carol
dhphotosite
October 17, 2011 at 2:45 pm
I have no words other than “great tribute.”
flyinggma
October 17, 2011 at 10:51 pm
Thank you David. No other words are needed. 🙂
Linda
October 17, 2011 at 10:23 pm
That is so sweet, it makes me miss my grandmother. She read her bible every day but we she never played cards, she didn’t allow them. That would have been fun. I might have been better at math if we had played cards. She did teach me how to tie my shoes though. The funny thing is that now I love to play poker. It fascinates me. I so miss her cakes and pies and lots of other home cooked things. She loved to cook but I hate to cook.
flyinggma
October 17, 2011 at 10:57 pm
Times were so different back then. My husband’s family did not allow cards in their home either. That is so neat that your grandma taught you how to tie your shoes and you remember that about her.
I used to love to watch Grandma bake. She never measured anything. A little bit of this and more of that…One time Grandma got so frustrated with my Dad as she was trying to make pancakes like crepes. My dad wanted her recipe so we could make them. He was trying to get her to measure everything as she mixed up the pancakes. They finally came up with a recipe that tastes like Grandma’s pancakes.
I love to cook for holidays or large gatherings but not so much the daily cooking. I paid my way through college cooking in an Italian restaurant so I had my fill of cooking for many years.
barb19
October 17, 2011 at 10:52 pm
A beautiful and heartfelt tribute to your grandmother – she sounds like she was a wonderful lady, and one whom I would have loved to have known.
flyinggma
October 17, 2011 at 10:58 pm
She was always a gracious hostess. We could bring anyone to her home and they would be welcomed as family.
Patti
October 18, 2011 at 9:54 am
A list like this is a great reminder about how we conduct ourselves in daily life, remembering all the little touches we add (or fail to add) in our interactions with those closest to us. I hope someone remembers me some day with the same type of fondness.
flyinggma
October 18, 2011 at 9:46 pm
I have to remind myself often it doesn’t take much time to do something to make someone else’s day. I’m sure that your family will remember you with fondness and love for the way you have made their days special.
Carl D'Agostino
October 18, 2011 at 1:57 pm
All great advice. My father’s favorite is “Look both ways before you cross the street” He said it when I was a child and he’s 88 and I’m 62 and he still says it. But has a whole different meaning now, right?
flyinggma
October 18, 2011 at 9:41 pm
We had to tell our kids the same thing many times. Growing up in a small town of 400 they had no idea of the danger of traffic.
Isn’t it interesting how as we get older we read more into what people say and often interpret it differently than when we were younger. I think it is sweet that your Dad is still concerned about your welfare at age 88. We never stop loving our children.
belleofthecarnival
October 24, 2011 at 9:16 pm
Beautiful memories and wonderful life lessons! Thank you for sharing this post!
pattisj
October 31, 2011 at 1:44 am
You have such lovely memories. I came along late in life, and never had much of a relationship with my grandparents. One grandmother, who died when I was ten, spent time with me; but we cousins were usually banished from the house at my other grandmother’s, until time for us to eat.