Grandma Said.....

My Dad's mother was a life long Methodist. She played the church organ every Wednesday night and for every service on Sunday. She endured much in her life; as did many who were born before the 20th century came around. Yet her buoyant faith somehow always made a visit to her house the most fun ever. Dad, mom, and my seven brothers and sisters would leave Wisconsin in our '56 Chevy wagon while the moon and stars were still out and head for south Chicago. We wouldn't go north again until the moon was once more high in the sky. In between, I only remember Grandma's welcoming laughter, the games we played, wrestling in the living room with Dad, the special neighborhood walks we took, and the wonderful rootbeer floats in the big soda fountain glasses that Grandma would serve with a special twinkle for each of us.
She spent her last years in a nursing home. It was difficult to see her there. She was still as sharp as ever even as her body slowly failed. On one of our last visits together she said that this life is not for the timid. It's complicated and full of uncertainty.... and sometimes too long, she said. She said that once her life is done, it'll take some getting over. "Maybe that's why we sleep in the grave before Jesus comes," she said. "We're resting up from it all."
I miss her this morning......