Grandma

On October 28, 2008 My grandmother went to be with the Lord. We knew her time was coming soon. Her mind, for all intents and purposes, had already gone many months before. When her body finally gave out, thoughts of her last two years faded away and the memories of the wonderful life she led, filled the forefronts of our minds. After the funeral, at the open mic, I shared some of my memories of my grandmother. For those that weren't there, I now share that with you.

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Memories of Grandma

I have many fond memories of my grandmother. When I was young, we would usually take a week in summer and visit "Grandma in Victoria". That was always exciting, especially since we had to take a ferry to visit her. Grandma's place was fun. She would make peppermint cookies, and she had games and storybooks that we didn't have at home.

Grandma made sure we knew that she loved us. When I was little she would say to me, "I love you. Do you know that?" Until one day I told her "I know you do, you don't have to ask me." From that day on, she never asked me again, but she never stopped telling me that she loved me.

From as early on as she could, she started teaching us songs about Jesus. I distinctly remember her singing "This little light of mine" and "Heavenly Sunshine" with me. She wanted us to know Jesus. I don't think I fully realize just how many prayers she prayed for me, and how much of where I am today is because of her prayers for her grandchildren.

In her day job, my Grandmother ran a successful fabric store. Grandma's store was cool. At the store, the grandchildren had special privilege. We could go to "the back" but the customers couldn't. The thing I enjoyed the most was the big boxes. When she got shipments of fabric, they would come in refrigerator-sized boxes, and she would save them for me so when I got there I could spend the week building myself a house.

Sometimes I even made a little money doing odd jobs around the store. I remember stamping hundreds of bags with the "Yards 'n' Yards Fabrics" address on it. One time I asked if I could look at the alarm system, because all the windows had a foil strip around the perimeter and I was interested in electronics. She took me to the back of the store, and bent down and quietly said to me "It's fake." My eyes widened and I couldn't believe that all this time my grandmother was secretly tricking all the potential robbers with a fake alarm system.

I asked her if she was going to get a computer for her business, but she said no, she had never used one before, and she doesn't need one. In fact, she NEVER used a computer, not once. And I think she was almost proud of that.

Grandma always kept herself busy. So even when she was watching TV, I remember she would work on her Crocheting. She taught me how to crochet. And for a period in grade 5, that was my hobby too.

In 1995 she moved to Abbotsford, and that was a treat. Now the grandmother we loved to visit was in our own town. She would join us for Saturday morning breakfast and I remember I could tell when Grandma had been to our house because there would be a tire track on our front lawn about 6" in from the curb. She like to make sure she was off the road as far as possible.

Some other facts about my grandmother:
-Grandma was a lefty like me, although at a young age she had to convert to right handedness.
-At thanksgiving, she always wanted the turkey neck, which was good, because nobody else did.

Grandma would invite me out for lunch from time to time. Just one-on-one with her FAVOURITE grandson, which is technically true, since (at the time) I was her ONLY grandson. She also extended a standing invitation to go for lunch anytime. If I have one regret, it's that I didn't take her up on it in my 20's as often as I could have. In those times we would talk about everything from what we were doing that day, to what it was like when she was a kid. I remember her speaking so fondly of her late husband, my grandfather. Their time together was so short, and yet it gave her enough good memories to last a lifetime. It has encouraged me to strive to be that kind of man.

I am really proud to say that Elizabeth Marshall was my grandma. She enjoyed life and had a positive cheerful attitude every time I saw her. She loved people and loved her family and loved the Lord. And I have been truly blessed by her.