I recall listening as Granny told me about living in Logan, Utah as a single young woman of 26 wondering if she would ever be married and have children. I asked if she could have even conceived of the great number of posterity who call her Mother, Grandmother, and Great-Grandmother. In 1926, no, she could not. And in 1994, so many of us came together at a reunion, and ~ as life would have it ~ to spend a few days, within the last few years of her life, as an entire family. Granny had five children, who each had multiple children (six in my family alone!), and from there, her great- and great-great-grandchildren began to arrive.
This woman is totally and completely my hero. She lived a long twenty years after Grandpa Call passed, and yet she stayed so strong ~ physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. She was blessed with a healthy mind throughout her nearly 97 years. Her wit remained intact, her wise-cracking one-liners keeping us constantly entertained. She was able to at once be the funniest woman around, and still demand respect simply by her presence. She was beautiful throughout her life with a perfectly innate beauty unmatched by the most glamorous of any modern-day model. She brought out the very best in everyone who had the privilege of knowing her.
Granny, you are my hero, my ideal, a paragon of excellence toward which I strive to become. I love you with all my heart, and miss you with that same heart. And to you, as with Grandma Wheeler, I hope to report about what I have done with your name and your legacy. I intend to become the woman you always saw in me, and to present myself to you and Grandpa and all of my ancestors when I see you again.
another one I'm going to print out & keep!
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