An Angel Walks Among Us

At first glance she is no more significant than any other little old woman you would pass on the street, sit next to at church, or see pushing a shopping cart at the grocery store.  She is barely five feet tall, her spine was curved long ago by age, and her once long dark hair has been replaced by a short, curly, salt and pepper puff. It is when you look beyond that, into the very being of this woman, that you see the beautiful soul that resides within my Grandmother.

When I think back on my childhood, my most prominent memories are of being at my Grandparent's house.  This is probably because since I was six weeks old I, along with my older sister, were entrusted to their care while our parents were at work.  How much fun we would have playing in the enclosed yard, on the swingset that was put up just for us, or making castles in the sandbox.  My Grandma used to wake up early to pick the dandelion flowers that grew in the grass, just to keep the honey bees, and any chance of their sting, as far away as possible.  I remember her spending entire afternoons pushing us on the swing while singing to us.

My favorite was always:  "Daisey, Daisey, give me your answer true,
                                        I'm half crazy, all for the love of you,
                                        I can't afford a carriage,
                                        It won't be a stylish marriage,
                                        But you'll look sweet, upon the seat,
                                        Of a bicycle built for two."

I loved it so much, I used to sing it as a lullaby to my children when they were babies. It's funny the memories of her that seem to stick with me the most.  An overheard clipped phrase "...but, ummmm....", the endless wringing of hands that worrying brings, and even the way she still says "hello" on the telephone, as though every call will bring bad news.

All through my life I have looked to her to be my moral compass.  I often ask myself "Could I face my Grandma if she knew that I had done that."  And although I have lived my life far from perfect, she has never judged me, or cast me out.  Even when I told her, for the second time, I was having a child "out of wedlock", she simply smiled and said, "Babies are a blessing from God."  But I must make note of how happy she was when I finally made an honest woman of myself, (of course big Catholic Church style, because she wouldn't of had it any other way!)

Now at the age of 84, her body and mind are slowing giving out.  She can still be found cooking lunch, doing dishes, & sweeping floors, but I dread the day the warmth she brings into a room, is no longer.  She is the Grandmother that taught me how to read, how to swim, how to bake, how to BE.  Who at any point in time would take in her grandkids if a babysitter was needed, even on short notice. She is the mother that raised 5 children.  The Wife that has been devoted to her husband for the past 61 years.  The sister to eight other sisters.  The daughter of a poor farming couple, and the neighbor that would pull up a chair and invite you in if you showed up unannounced at dinner time.  The very makeup of an Angel incarnate, and I truly believe this world has been made a better place for having her in it.

My Grandma and I at my wedding 2010