Grandmas rock...

It's true. They sit in their rockin' chairs and do just that...they rock.

I remember growin' up and sitting on my grandmas' laps. Mostly it was a time to have them hug me and tell me how special I was to them. That was always the case with Grandma Kate. I loved her for it. Other times, especially with Grandma Violet, it was to tell me things like, "Pretty is as pretty does." That meant that little girls were to be quiet, gentle spirits. Little girls were to act properly at all times. Growing up with brothers, that certainly was rarely the case, so Grandma Violet was that constant reminder of a woman's place in this world. I shall never forget that either. I loved her for it.

Other things stick out. Grandma Violet loved giving out one dollar bills. On October 16th, I could always expect a cute little birthday card. I never paid attention to the message, but rather the delight of that one dollar bill magically appearing inside every year. Grandma Kate was the big spender, though. She always gave the very same type of card, but with a five dollar bill...every year. Six bucks to a kid was the equivalent to the lottery for an adult. Okay, maybe not quite to that extent, but still...it was awesome!

God provided many things through my grandmas. Green beans that none can compare too (Violet). Outings to Long John Silver. (Hush puppies tasted better when Grandma Kate was around.) Outings to KFC. (I hated those trips, but now find myself ordering what Grandma Violet did...three wings and a biscuit.) Puppy love (Kate). Animals are from God and should be treated humanely. Hard work and perseverance. Both grandmas taught me that. Chinese Checkers (Violet). Othello (Kate...and she never let me win). Crazy Eights (Kate). Grandma Violet ate dandelions while raking leaves and always added, "They'll do ya good and help ya too!" Ice cream eating contests. The older Grandma Kate got, the faster she ate. And she said the trick was to not let the ice cream touch the roof of your mouth. (I still haven't figured that one out!) And so many other things that only grandmas can provide. And it was all rooted in that four-letter-word...LOVE.

I thought I had seen the last of my grandmas when they passed on to be with Jesus. I knew I'd have the memories, a special dish or trinket from their belongings, but I didn't expect any more dollar or five dollar bills.

Little did I know, that at just the right time, one of those special old ladies would come alive again with generosity.

As I've mentioned in previous blogs, I will be going back to school this fall and so my first registration fee is coming up on Monday, the 22nd of this month. I didn't know where the majority of the $800 was going to come from. I've prided myself in not having to use a credit card, but reality hit and I knew that I would unfortunately have to join that club of being in debit to a piece of plastic. And then...

Mom called.

"Ya know how when you're are really in need of some money, how God always chimes in at just the right time?....Well, I think most of your first school bill of $760 is going to be covered."

I just smiled and let her finish telling me the story...

Last week, she (mom) went to pull out a recipe from an old recipe book that she hadn't used in ages. An envelop fell out and she noticed it had something to do with my Grandma Violet, my dad's mom who passed away almost 2 years ago. Mom set the envelop on my dad's stack of mail. Dad finally got around to opening the envelop just four days ago and it happened to be a $500 savings bond...in MY name. My jaw dropped.

Needless to say, when I get home to VA in just over a week, I'll be cashing that in to pay for my first two prerequisite courses!

Maybe mom should keep cookin' from those old recipe books! Who knows what might fall out next! :)

Isn't God good!?

And isn't it true...

Grandmas really do ROCK!

In memory of Grandma Kate (passed away December 2007, she was 79.)
In memory of Grandma Violet (passed away July 2008, she was 102.)