The title of this post, is one of Grammie's favorite songs, and this post is in her memory. The one I wrote about her death was so sad, I wanted to write about some of the happy memories we had together.
One of my first memories of Grammie is her swimming with me in Pop's pool. She would swirl her arms around in the water and make "crullers". She would also sing to me "you are my sunshine" as we bobbed around in the pool. She always took me shopping my whole life and would buy me tons of clothes. We would watch what not to wear and Law and Order SVU. She loved to shop on QVC and was always ordering something or another. I had always told her when I got my license I would take her shopping and I was so happy when i got my license to do that. We got to go out just the two of us 3 times. When she lived in northford, her home always had a particular scent and sometimes when I go out somewhere, i smell something just like it, and it reminds me of her. Grammie was always making us things to wear. One year for Christmas, she sent us all sweatshirts she had decorated with fabric and glitter. I remember another time she made me a set of 10 or so jumpers that were huge. Another one of her wearable projects were some bright red polar fleece culottes for me to wear in teh snow. When I got older, she started to give me some of her jewlery. I have a saphire ring she wore as a little girl as well as the necklace and earrings she wore to her wedding. I wore them to my wedding as well. I got dressed for my wedding at her new house. I remember her panicking because she couldn't get my dress to lace up and started yelling, "what did you eat?". I have so many memories of dinners and stay overs at the old house in Northford. It was like a place where time stood still. To a kid who was constantly moving, it was the epitome of how life should be. We would pick golden raspberries, order pizza and eat on the porch, go swimming all summer long in the pool followed by popsicles while we dried off on towels in the grass. Pop would set off fireworks in the driveway on the 4th of July while Grammie was on standby with the hose on. She kept her purse absolutely filled with napkins from the chowder pot as well as tic tacs in an assortment of flavors. She always had raspberry lime soda in the fridge. She used to keep stashes of goodies around the house. One night when i was little, I walked by her reading on the couch. Well, i thought she was reading. She had fallen asleep with a rice cake in her mouth. She could be counted on to tell you exactly what she was thinking. I rememer the first time I put on make up she was on the phone with someone and she told them i looked like a clown. She wouldn't take crap from anybody. She was fierce. I remember when Josh and I were trying to make Star Wars costumes, she cut up a gauzy turquoise dress so we could have the material. I started collecting porcelaine dolls because she did when I was 5. I collected them until I was 16 and I cried like crazy when I had to leave them all in France. When we lived in France, we talked every week and emailed almost everyday. I still have most of the emails she sent me throughout my whole life. We did so many things with her and pop: the aquarium, bumper boats, lake compounce, six flags, train rides, the thimble islands tours, ferry rides, visiting gillettes castle, countless outings for ice cream, and riding around the yard on pop's mower. I have so many great Christmas memories at their house. Nobody ever game us as many presents as Grammie and Pop did. When they moved to Niantic, jon and I got some of their excess furniture. I have her favorite chair and evertime I sit in it, I pretend it's her giving me a hug. Grammie was nobody but herself and never made any excuses for that. She was a mom, a friend, a wife, a grandmother, a cancer survivor, and so many more things. No one who knew her could ever forget her. She may not be with us, but I bet she is up there, looking down on us and is ready to swoop down and give us what for if the need should arise.
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