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October 31, 2009

My Granny.

On September 30th, after a long fight with cancer, my Granny - the last of my grandparents - passed away. But I don't want to write about how she died. I want to write about how she lived.

My Granny lived with a zest for life that endeared her to everyone she met. It didn't matter with whom or where, it would take only seconds. We could be at a restaurant about to be served by an obviously cranky waiter then, all of a sudden, my Granny would say something and BOOM! the waiter would go from cranky to doting. Instant endearment.

It was the same with my friends. She was always a hit, even when I was a teenager. Seriously, how many teenaged kids get to hear their friends say "Your Granny is cool"?

My Granny always swore that her outgoing nature was borne from nervousness, not confidence. Watching her, you'd never know.

My Granny was (and always will be) famous for several other things. This is, by no means, an exhaustive list:
  • Her Granny chin
  • Her curly hair
  • Sloppy kisses
  • Trying rollerblading for the first time while in her sixties (earning her the nickname "Supergran"
  • Her knitting proficiency. She knit us all a new sweater every year for Christmas, which was something that we all looked forward to. Some of her knitted items were modeled on the covers of national magazines!
The many mitts knitted for my sister's wedding.


My Granny and Pop were an inspiration for my own marriage.  During their last visit with us, my Granny mentioned to Fawn that she would have left my Pop on several occasions - if she'd had someplace else to go.  Watching them look lovingly at each other, it would be hard to imagine them ever having a single argument.  All those years later and they were still moon-eyed and dreamy over each other.  That has helped Fawn and me get through some tough times.

Tough times, according to my Granny, were "all character building".

I was in Toronto last week because of my Granny and Pop.  They didn't want a bunch of friends and family crying and feeling sorry at a funeral or memorial service.  Instead we had a "Celebration of Life".

It was very appropriate.  Very appropriate, indeed.

My Granny.

5 comments:

Mungo said...

Wonderful post. Thank you for sharing this.
Mungo

Matt, Kara, Hunter and Cavan said...

Sounds like an amazing woman all around! Glad you have such wonderful memories to cherish.

Clare said...

Wonderful remembrance Michael, she sounds like a remarkable person.

IndyComp0t1 said...

What a lovely tribute to your grandmother. Sounds like she was a wonderful person. :)

Jennybell said...

sweet :) I lost the last of my grandparents Aug 2008. It's really still odd not to be able to go to Grandma and Grandpa's.