Tribute to my grandmother...

It is amazing how a year goes by. One year ago today at 5:00 AM, I received a phone call from my mother that I knew had been coming. She had called to tell me that my grandmother had passed away. In the days leading up to this occurring (and it literally was days...3 days), I had thought I was prepared to handle her death. I was there with the family on the night she was rushed to the hospital; I spent quite a bit of time at the hospital over the next couple days; I had intentions of staying the night, but with so many family members there, I elected to go back to my apartment; I had hoped I would be able to be there with the family for the final moments.

My grandmother was an amazing woman. She was small in stature, but very mighty and powerful. She lived to be 90 years old. She was the mother to 8 children (6 sons, 2 daughters), and had 25 grandchildren. She was married to my grandfather for 70 years and 6 months, an amazing feat in itself.

I remember a lot about my grandmother. When I was younger, I would stay a week during the summer with my grandparents. One food I remember always having while there were bread tomatoes. Now these were not breaded tomatoes, but chopped tomatoes and white bread cooked together. Another that she made was potato soup, which I have never had one as good. I also remember when she came to stay for a week when my mother was in the hospital. I remember her telling me about the trips she and my grandfather took over to Italy and Germany. I remember how my grandmother and I would rile each other up because she liked the Chicago Cubs and I liked the St. Louis Cardinals. She got me into twiddling my thumbs when I was younger. Her hands were always cold, and I remember how I would put my hands around hers to warm them up.

My grandmother never had a couch or sofa in the house. She had things that would appear to be this, but she had another name for it. She called it a devonent. She and my grandfather had their own devonent, so they could take afternoon naps while watching TV.I have asked many friends if they or their parents/grandparents/other family members have devonents. They replied with a "WTF are you talking about?" look on their face. I have had some friends ask me if I meant a Davenport. I then turned and gave them the same "WTF" look and said no, because I knew what I was talking about.

Over the past year, my mother moved in with my grandfather so they could take care of each other. Every time I go up there, I see the "porch house" my grandfather made for my grandmother so she could sit in her swing year-round; I feel my grandmother's presence in the house even though she is not physically there; and I sit on the devonent. I will always cherish the time I spent with her...and now, her memories as well.