10 years already, yet it seems a lifetime

Ten years ago today, my Grandmother died. Seems like a pretty benign statement. Grandmothers are supposed to die. They are old, mine was sick for 13 years with heart disease. Shouldn't cause to much of a blip in our lives when a Grandmother dies. Not this Grandmother. This woman was truly the most amazing woman you would ever want to meet. I was the oldest granddaughter out of...well, I've lost count...like 40 something. And I thought my relationship with her was the most special. Come to find out...all 40something grandchildren felt the same way. We all thought we were the favorite! There are so many special things I remember about Grandmother. I remember being a child and staying at her scary house (and hating it), I remember going to the beach and having her help me body surf in the waves. I remember her taking us to ride Popsicle and Pumpkin (they were horses) when the Ohio Watts cousins came. I still laugh when I think of the many, many times I would startle her accidentally when she walked in a room. She would scream, then I would scream....then we couldn't stop laughing. She was a huge fan of me in my weight loss struggles. Anything she could do or buy me to help me with the process, she would do. She would cry with me when I didn't lose weight regardless of the work, and rejoice greatly when I did. I have moments in my memory that are etched there forever. When Greg and I went to tell her that we were engaged, when I got married and she was there. (We had been told she wouldn't live long enough to see us married). When I lived with her during the summer of my 16th birthday to take drivers ed. She got me hooked on soap operas!! Our long talks deep into the day when I was supposed to be working in the office. The trips to the store to buy her bridge mix and hard cookies that we would hide for her to snack on. The advice she would give me about my new friends, and the warnings about boys. She was one of the few people that could call me by my full name and I wouldn't feel at all threatened or in trouble. Grandmother shared some of her struggles with me, and I found out later how incredibly blessed I was to be given that honor. I will treasure her life lessons and struggles forever. What an incredible legacy she has left us. All of the children serving in ministry in some capacity. All the grandchildren given a solid Christian foundation. At my deepest moments of grief I have ached for her. Each baby that never went to full pregnancy, each anniversary of Mark's death, each birthday of my children, and now...as Danielle enters the age that I was closest to my Grandmother, I am so blessed to see my Mom carrying on the tradition. For truly, my Grandmother was my dearest and best friend, next to my Mother. I have a huge whole that aches for her. No, not like any other Grandmother...not even close. I miss you, Grandmother. I ache to tell you the things in my world. I ache to sit next to you and talk for hours. I ache for your comfort, your advice, your laughter. I love you....I can't wait to see you again.