My Grandmother

My mother's mother, this is my grandmother. Her name is Millie and she is 92 years old. She is palliative. I am turning 40 this year and I am still sad that my grandmother is going to dying. She is a woman who hauled water, cooked on a wood stove and raised ten children on a farm. My favorite memory is climbing into Grandma's bed early in the morning after Grandpa got out to fill the wood stove with logs. In my memory my grandparents had running water, but Grandma washed clothes with a ringer washer which I thought was cool. The washing machine washed the clothes but then to squeeze the water out of them you carefully stuck the clothes through two rollers. Grandma was always warning us to keep our fingers away from the rollers. The clothes came out the other side flat as pancakes! We thought this was a wonderful game. Now as an adult I realize how patient Grandma was...this was her work and she always had lots of it. She gardened, canned, baked, raised chickens which provided both eggs and meat. My Grandpa had beef and dairy cattle, which meant they always had fresh milk. She knew how to sew, quilt and knit. She did a lot of mending. This was her sitting down time. I need to learn from her example to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I don't have to get everything done today, as long as my children are fed, clothed and sheltered, things are good. Not everyone has this. Sometimes I am hard on myself thinking I must do something of significance to better the world...but most times its the simple things:

A smile
A hug
Stopping to listen
Having a cup of tea
Watching the sun set or rise
Smelling a flower
Sharing a laugh
Holding a door open
Giving someone a helping hand

When I get to the end of my life like my Grandmother...what will be most important to me?

I am thinking: the health of my soul...if I listened to it
my relationship with God....how honest and close is it
my friendships.....how real are they and did I let them know they mattered
my family......did I share as much of myself with them as I could

So today I will attempt to live with this in mind and enjoy every moment.........even if I don't like them all........because sometimes life kicks the shit out of us.