She has mannequins decorating her front yard, rides a Gator ATV, can use a shotgun just as well as a sewing machine, and would rather go dancing than sit in a rocking chair. This is my grandmother in a nutshell. I affectionately refer to her as “Grandma Crazy.”
Despite her wackiness, I feel like she lives by the following quote:
Love is My Sword, Goodness My Armor, and Humor My Shield.
She embodies this and doesn’t even know it. If I read this to her someday, she will probably chuckle briefly and then invite me to go outside to pick fruit, check out her latest antique project, or take a Gator ride. She expects no credit and asks for nothing except your time. (She may also ask for help decorating her elaborate homemade mannequin Christmas tree). And now that I’m a mother, I just wish that I could be more like her. I wish I could inherit more of her “crazy” and let life roll off my back.
Love is My Sword
My grandmother has out-lived 2 out of her 6 children, her husband, and dozens of friends. But she refuses to let anything unravel her faith in God and love for life. When people hurt her children or grandchildren, she does not let fear or hatred control her. Her heart has no room for anything that resembles bitterness or resent. I also don’t think it is possible to offend her. If we haven’t visited in a while, she comes to us rather than getting upset about it. When we are hurting, how often do we passively hold on to that and let it affect our relationships?
Best of all, she absolutely loves my kids. When they cover her glass door in finger prints, she doesn’t clean them off for days because the prints remind her that her great grandchildren had visited. I wish that would cross my mind every time my kids and dog slobber their faces across our glass door, or when the tornado of toys gets out of hand. It’s just evidence that happy kids live here!
Goodness My Armor
While the rest of us get frustrated easily, almost nothing ruffles her feathers. At eight years old, I cut off a chunk of my hair the day before my first communion. My mother was livid. Grandma promptly responded with “Who cares? I cut my hair every day.” Then she helped my mom rearrange my veil to cover up the disaster. She will help anyone in a bind, and has helped me with many wardrobe malfunctions over the years. This includes a last minute bridesmaid dress fitting when I was ten days postpartum. When I called her to tell her the predicament I was in, she said “anything I can’t do in eight hours – you don’t need.” I could use more of that calm attitude and good nature.
Humor My Shield
If there is one quality I have inherited from my grandmother, I like to think it is her sense of humor. She never takes life too seriously, she laughs at life’s eye-rolling moments, her smile is contagious, and she always has a humorous story to tell. Life is hard, especially with little ones. We spend a lot of time and energy worrying and moving quickly to get from place to place, but through all of that, we cannot forget to laugh. It’s what gets us through each day.
Thinking of your grandparents, are there personality traits that you would like to inherit? In honor of Grandparent’s Day last Sunday, let’s honor our elderly loved ones by trying to be a bit more like them in all the best ways. I certainly want to inherit more love, goodness, and humor. If that means I have to inherit more “crazy,” I’m all for it.
What a sweet tribute to your Grandma, Jolene! Nice that you can share this while she’s still here!!……you keep on goin, Crazy Grandma!…. I can feel the love….:)
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