I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day, especially one such as this to remember my grandmother on her birthday as well as President Harry Truman. 

I rose at 6:45 AM, fed the dogs, opened the deck door for them to come and go, and went right back to bed until 8:30 AM. Those few extra hours of sleep felt great. 

Grandma Donna’s birthday often fell on Mother’s Day, giving our family two reasons to celebrate. My grandparents lived around the corner from where I grew up and I spent a majority of my time with them and my two uncles who were born ten and twelve years before me. I had my parents, and my grandparents and uncles were much like having an older set of parents (they were 40 and 42 when I was born) and older brothers. 

I spent most mornings with my grandparents and while working in the kitchen, Grandma Donna would tell me about our family’s history, her experiences growing up during The Great Depression, and other countless stories that have remained with me.  When discussing The Great Depression, her comments were always positive, the fun they had, and about what she learned; she never made it sound negative. But, that was her nature: always positive. She battled chronic lymphatic leukemia for fifteen years, but dying from colon cancer in the end. I don’t ever recall her complaining, even when it was obvious she was in discomfort or pain. 

Grandma left us in June 1992, thirty-one years ago, but her love and terrific sense of humor have remained in full force. 

I’m on the bus heading to one of my favorite haunts, and will return home so I can head next door to purchase my impatiens for my yard as I have done every year for twenty years. The proceeds are for a terrific cause that benefits Fairmont HS students with special needs. 

Make it a great day!