Great Grandma C

And then there were four - The Conrady family lost a generation last night.

Thank goodness she is with Jesus. I'm not exactly sure how heaven works, but hopefully she is squeezing her husband and my baby brother right about now.

This lady was one of a kind.

When I think of her, I think of the sparkle in her eye. She was witty, spunky, and usually smiled with her tongue sticking out between her teeth and one eye closed in a wink.

She and I were both staying at my Grandparents house the week leading up to my wedding. She had commented a few times on my future husband's bearded face, so when he slid into the pew the Sunday of our wedding, we leaned over to her and pointed out his cleanly shaved face.
"What do you want me to do? she replied, "Kiss it?!"

Oh Grandma. <3

I quite enjoyed bragging that my Great Grandma was over 90 but still working - caring for people much younger than she was. She also volunteered at a thrift store well into her 90s - the only thrift store I know of that had ironed clothes! Once in a while she would see something she liked and send it to me. When she gave me this bowl, she said it was the most beautiful dish she'd ever seen and that I just had to have it! It is my favorite serving dish.

I just so happened to be packing it up this morning to move to our new house. I think I'll feature it more prominently there so that when people see it I can tell them about my Great Grandma.

Besides her spunk and work ethic, I remember her refusal to wear a coat - even on the coldest days - and the difficulty she had in waiting for her turn to open Christmas presents. To be fair, we usually started at the youngest and worked our way up. I remember many years of watching Grandma sneak a peak at what she got before it was actually her turn to unwrap a gift. Haha! <3

This lady was also known for her crocheting. She crocheted many lap blankets "for the old folk." She taught me how to crochet! And in our first year of marriage, she crocheted this afghan for us in just five days.

I enjoyed having her as a pen pal for a few years before her stroke messed up her ability to read my letters and write back. Thank goodness my sentimental husband encouraged me to keep some of her letters. Here are a few of my favorite excerpts:

"I must stay inside when the therm. is below 0. My breather doesn't work good.
p.s. don't forget to cuddle. it's good weather for that."

"write again"

"I'm feeling fine. Between my hook and my pen, I keep one of them hot!"

"Thank you for writing. I pray for you every day, and Steven too!"

"Let me know if praying is helping."

"Hallelujah! What a surprise! I'm so happy for you! and I like being a great Gramma! I know the first part is hard and I sure was all four times, and I always got rid of my breakfast. But before long that will be over and it's always great when you can feel them move inside of you."

Until I put these pictures side-by-side I hadn't realized that she apparently loved that pink sweater!

Oh, Grandma Conrady. Great Grandma Conrady. You are loved.

<3