Grandma Amos' Birthday

Today my grandmother, known as Grandma A, would have been 99 years old.  Grandma A passed away at the age of 95.  Can you imagine the stuff you have seen in that kind of lifetime?  Wow.

Grandma A was an amazing person.  She was almost 40, 39 and a half if you asked her, when she had my Mom.  My Mom was the youngest of three children all eight and a half years apart.  My cousins are 10 and 20 years older than us.  Because of this, it felt like we had Grandma A all to ourselves.

My Mom, Aunt Barb, Grandma A., and J.L.

Us kids with Grandma A.

My Grandpa Amos had passed away just after I was born.  22 months later my Mom had four small children and Grandma A was heavily involved in our lives.  I am fortunate to have actually had all of my grandmothers and great-grandmothers living for quite a while.

Grandma A would come and stay with us for Christmas sleeping in our spare room and opening gifts with us in the morning.  We would get $100 in crisp $1 bills each Christmas from her.  She moved in with my parents towards the last part of my high school years after she had a stroke.  I loved having her in our downstairs area apartment.  I would come home to find letters attached to my mirror or on my pillow from her.  These letters included stories, memories, comics, daily devotions from her calendars, or even articles from the newspaper.  This started many years of writing letters back and forth that stretched from the time I left for college, to when I moved into my own apartment, to when I met Kenyon and got married, and finally until she passed away.

I miss getting letters from her.  I cherish the letters I do have and will get them out from time to time to read and remember her.  I loved to visit her house in Melba and attend the Melba Old Tyme 4^th of July events each year.  As kids we would sit on the lawn and watch the fireworks each year.  Melba was also the meeting place for family that came to town.

Grandma A was the best cook and was known for her homemade rolls.  I remember she also made a really great black bottom pie.  There wasn’t anything she made that wasn’t delicious.  We would serve our dinners around her large dining room table chatting up a storm.

My favorite photo of Grandma A taken at one of my Hawaiian parties

Grandma A loved roses and the pink rose in particular.  Pink roses just smell like Grandma A.  Her house in Melba was surrounded by rose bushes.  My brother took this photo of a rosebush at my Mom’s house that was from one Grandma A’s starts.

I am sad she never got to meet Emma, Katie’s youngest daughter.  Grandma A was so thrilled when Katie announced she was pregnant with Hailey.   They had a lot of fun playing in the living room area where Grandma A was living when Hailey would visit Mom and Dad’s house.

What I miss most are her hugs.  If I could see her again I would hug her and hold on tight.  The day she passed away, the doctors think she had a stroke earlier that morning.  She had slipped into a coma by the time I arrived at the hospital.  Grandma A knew we were there.  She was just hanging on until all her children arrived and then passed away through the night. 

Cousin Sarah infront of the headstone

I believe there are certain people that come into or lives for a reason.  I know my life has been that much more special due to the time I had with Grandma A.  She is forever and always missed!

Katie and Hailey had a balloon release at the cemetary