Mourning the loss of another loved one

10/21/97 The day we lost my dear sweet grandma. The sweetest woman, who we all loved dearly.

My brother, sister and I (as well as anyone else who crossed her path) were quite blessed to be able to get to know her. I can remember going over to grandma's every day in the summertime with Mom for lunch. And lunch, wow now that was something, it was like grandma's restaurant, no matter whether Jimmy wanted Mac N Cheese (from the can, like a Chef Boy R Dee), and I wanted breaded veal (man do I miss grandma's veal, even though I make it the same way she did, it still doesn't taste the same must have been the extra dose of love she added), and Katy and Mom wanted a sandwich, and grandpa wanted something totally different. We all got what we wanted, and she never complained once about doing it.

Grandma, having a pool, would get dressed in her bathing suit, put on the shower cap thingy, get each of us children a towel, and would "swim" with us (although it really was more of a doggy paddle type swim), "swim" over to the diving board, hold on to it and kick her legs for exercise, then float around the pool in her lounging chair all while we children were jumping off the diving board, kicking our feet wildly to cause splashes, playing "Marco, Polo", or just plain being annoying children. And did she ever say "okay guys, calm down that is enough", not ever that I could remember.

We would all go for walks around the block, feed the ducks in the park, climb the bent over palm tree in the park (which we all affectionately call "Grandma's park"...there were always activities for us to do while
at grandma's house.

There was one thing that my mom, brother, sister and I did that just drove her crazy, singing this song:

Goodbye Grandma Goodbye,
We'll see you again,
Tomorrow is when,
Goodbye Grandma, Goodbye.

She would yell at us to stop, that the neighbors would hear our obnoxious singing (please, our singing was good, it would even make the neighborhood dog's sing with us, okay maybe not that bad, but close).

We definitely didn't inherit her talent genes. Grandma could sing, and she could act including such "plays" as "Betty at the baseball game", "Bride's First Visit to the butcher", "How to get a maid", and my personal favorite, "Bugs" (let me ask you, is there anything more inhumane than the way treat Bugs? Is there really a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Bugs? If there isn't, after hearing grandma do this one, you would like to form one). She had such amazing talents, the different accents she could do and really sound like genuine accents. Wow, is all I can say !!

I suppose I should end this tribute to a wonderful woman who is still thought about often, and missed lots each and every day, by updating the "song" and singing to her one last time (until we see each other again):

Goodbye Grandma Goodbye,
We'll see you again,
In Heaven is when,
Goodbye Grandma, Goodbye.