Things I Learned from Grandma

I have felt a sadness lingering in me this week. My Grandma passed away over the weekend, and she was a special part of my life. She lived in North Carolina, and I spent many trips as a child (every year in Autumn) and in recent years (usually the Summer) up there exploring the beautiful mountains and visiting with Grandma.

Grandma was not into any technology. No computer, no cell phone, nor any device with a screen other than a television. We wrote letters/notes to each other over the years. I was about to write her another letter (I had the stationery out) when the sad news reached me.

In my nightstand drawer I found the Christmas card she sent me, just a few months ago, and in it was this little slip of paper, with her name printed on it, on which she wrote "May all your days be blessed with the presense of an angel watching over you." And the way she spelled presense instead of presence struck me as holding double-meanings. It reminds me that God is with us in every moment, and the spirits of our loved ones are not lost. They stay with us, because they are part of us in some ways. I love that the last note I have from Grandma is a blessing.

I had an inspired inkling to put together a little list of things I learned from my Grandma over the years, as a course of reflection and appreciation for her long life of almost 92 years.

Things I Learned from Grandma:
(whether by observation or experience)

- Appreciate nature. Look at nature.

- Take long walks everyday, but wear cosy shoes.

- Be frugal.

- Write poetry, and share it with others.

- Think independent thoughts.

- Be witty.

- Be content with where you are and what you've been given.

- Pay attention to flowers. Collect them.

- Listen to the birds. Watch them.

- Collect Autumn leaves and make art out of them.

- Write letters like they will never go out of style.

- Live simply.

- Breathe in the mountain air.

- Don't give in to getting all the new technology.

- Pray for others' love and well-being.

- Don't worry about what other people think of you.

- Stay sharp.

- Do all the word searches.

- Do things that make you happy. It may not be what everyone else wants you to do.