Dearest Gigi 1921-2008

Dear Grandma,

I miss you already. I miss your laugh, your soft brown eyes, and your wrinkled hands. I miss your generous spirit, your sharp wit, and your honesty. I hate the fact that I will miss your funeral.

Remeber the time when I came to visit you in South Carolina, and you took me to see South Pacific? I remember so many things about your home there. The birds on the sofa and the birds on the sheets. The mallard duck decoys that Grandpa liked. The ping-pong table in the basement, and how I was so ashamed when I broke one of your paddles because I was angry at my sister and I hit it too hard on the table. The walks we would take around the marina, and the days spent swimming at the pool. I remember going to the video store and renting movies to watch on a rainy day and eating Jello Pudding Pops on the deck. You always had butterschotch discs in the kitchen and I remember how your favorite candy was butterum Lifesavers.

You always cried at the drop of a hat, and my cousins and I would laugh at your loud belches you were so well known for. You would tell us to look away as you drank the milk out of your cereal bowl, and you would do cartwheels for me on the lawn.

Remember your 6oth birthday party? Remember your 65th birthday party? I don't think some people ever recovered from those! I remember watching video from your 65th birthday party the next day at your home and my aunts and uncles kept rewinding the part where you got the balloon ornament over and over again. How we all laughed at your sentimentality and tears-and then at your surprise when you opened your card for a balloon ride! I hated to sing in public, but I did it for you Grandma. I think your 65th party was the last time I remember enjoying singing for an audience, and it was for you!

When I grew into an adult you were there for me, even though we saw each other so infrequently. As you grew older you remained the same to me, and you became a special person in my children's life. F and C still want to hear about Herbert the Lion, and I'm glad that F is old enough to keep some memories of you as he grows.

My most recent memories of being with you are this past Christmas. We played games, we ate, we opened gifts, and yes, you drank too much! How strange it will be to not have your liquor in Mom's kitchen cabinet, your coffee in the freezer, your "room" will be empty. I will miss drinking tea with you and just talking with you, Grandma.

I love you Grandma.