The Legacy of a Great Cheerleader

Today is a sad day in my heart. Sad and yet peaceful at the same time. I have been gifted enough to have grandparents, on both sides that were my best friends, especially my grandmothers. And today, I lost my grandma, my last living grandma. Granddaughter is not a title that I give up easily.

The house where it all began

She gave me a gift for crafting, a love for volunteer work, how to give back to others. I spent countless weekends at her house, eating my grandma grill cheese and hagendaz bars. We had so many adventures together, road trips, Seaworld, Germany, a new dog, moving her out of state and so many more.

We spent many many hours on the phone talking about life, joking, crafting, baking, digging in the dirt, clipping rose bushes making grill cheese.  She taught me how to flip the birdJ, peel out in the dirt when needed.

But most of all, what she taught me about people is something that I never will forget, Love and service. She spent countless hours (thousands upon thousands) volunteering. She taught me what unconditional love was and how to love even when others might be unlovable. Oh and then there is the speaking my mind.

High School Graduation

And on top of all that, (much more that I did not mention) she was my biggest cheerleader. She rooted me on for everything I have done. From the little things like dance recitals, band performances, going to college, moving to China, getting married, adopting my daughter, she was always holding her pom poms and cheering loudly.

I decided several years ago, to make sure I had no regrets in our relationship. I made sure in college I had enough funds to visit her every few months. And even after, minus the year that I was in China, I saw her at least every 3 months.

The last and one of the few of my girl and her

My husband, had never known his grandparents, they were born in the later 1800’s, so Grandma Karlson was a grandma for him.  She gave him a run for his moneyJ I am so thankful that he got to share life with her. And, even more so I am so thankful that he was willing to work so hard to make sure there was always room in the budget to visit grandma. I remember there were a couple of months a couple of years ago, that we were up there every single weekend helping her move, and he never batted an eye. She was worth it, we could go without and she deserved it. We never had a regret.

I am thankful that I got to up there this week and spend time with her. Thankful for family that watched my kid so we could have some time together. Thankful my girl got to kiss her on the check and sing to her.  Thankful I got the opportunity to tell her what I wanted to say, get hand squeezes as we talked, and ultimately let her know the treasure she is and where her treasure of her heart was. It was hard to walk out of her room, heartbreaking in fact, however I had a sense of overwhelming peace in leaving knowing that as she spent her final hours walking into eternity, she and I both knew where we stood.

She is one of the special few, a rare gem and I am incredibly honored to be her granddaughter.

Brokenhearted,thankful, honored,

 Jennifer

PS- the last night we were there, Hosanna decided she was going to sing a song before we left. She picked it out all herself and sang it into the call button aka microphone:) Before we left. I know not many knew what she was singing, I knew and it was perfect. The link below...... Be blessed by my girls wisdom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr1ldGm5JAQ