Grandma's Love

My darling Grandmother passed away in December 2011. She was the glue of our extended family. She didn't have much in the way of money by then, so there was no will saying who got what. My cousins and I spent a very emotional afternoon taking turns picking an item from her home. We were fortunate enough to have such different interests that there was no bickering or sadness over someone else getting something we really wanted. My first pick was an old yellow bowl. It has virtually no monetary value, but holds many dear memories. As the picking continued, my pile got increasingly odd. I wanted the silverware (not real silver just the ones she used), her recipe box with hand scrawled recipes, aprons etc.
I didn't examine why I wanted what my heart kept telling me to pick at the time. It wasn't until the pain had subsided some that I was able to make any sense of it. She showed her love the most when she was cooking or baking. She was always kind and sweet natured, but while cooking for loved ones she glowed.
I have so many wonderful memories of her helping me roll out a pie crust or whipping up something delicious. Her patience never ran out. We spent many hours in the kitchen. It was so much easier to talk about your problems when your hands had something to do and your eyes had something to focus on. Many a loads were removed from my shoulders in her kitchen.
Of course, I became older and we didn't spend quite so much time together. I would still call her up and ask about a cobbler though, or how best to cook a pork roast. It gave us something to talk about when the silences would stretch. Everynow and then. I'd ask for her help in the kitchen. Her tremor made knives a no no, but she could mix and be in the thick of it.
I had my daughter in 2004. That made her a Great Grandmother (I had always knew she was GREAT, but this made it official)! As soon as Lynsay could walk, Grandma had her stirring things up! She'd let her sit on her lap and spoon feed her yummies. As Lynsay got bigger and stayed with her some while I ran errands, they made creations in the kitchen. I'd come back to find "milkshakes" of questionable ingredients and who knows what in the oven! She let her explore in ways I would not have ever allowed. At the time I thought the dementia was really getting to her, but now I see her wisdom.

My daughter loves to cook! We make lots of stuff together. We always use Grandma's big spoon to mix with. The yellow bowl has a prominent place on my counter along with the ugly green recipe box. Every time I pull out one of her aprons or see Lynsay rooting through the spoons looking for "THE ONE", I smile. I know we are still feeding our family with Grandma's love.