Almgren Adventures: A sad day...

Today was a very sad day for our family. Our beloved Grammy has passed away. I have such nice memories of my Grammy...she's a Great Grammy to me and my brothers. I went to her house to visit every summer with Mommy and Spencer and was able to attend her 90th birthday party last December.

I remember my Grammy holding me on her lap and humming a beautiful song to me to help me sleep when I was just a small baby. All of my cousins liked nothing better then to sit on her lap or hold her soft hands. She was always so gentle and loving.

My Mommy was very lucky to have her for so many years and tells me stories about when she was little. Grandma always let the kids help her make pies and bake bread. She let them play dress up and nothing was ever off limits. Makeup, jewelry, clothes and shoes were always available to her granddaughters to try on and wear around the house. They would spend hours playing with her jewelry and pretending to be much bigger then they were. She would fix snacks whenever anyone was hungry and nothing ever tasted as good as the food Grandma could cook. She could whip up a pie, a delicious soup or the best bread you've ever had...most of it by memory, no recipe needed. Mommy and Aunt Becky would eat her jarred cherries until they had a "gut ache", as Gram always warned them they would have if they didn't stop eating. She grew mint in her gardens and would brew up a nice cup of mint "tea" to cure their ailing tummies.

And boy, could she sew! She made every one of her nineteen grandchildren handmade quilts when they graduated from high school and then made small quilts for a lot of her great grandchildren as well. There were many Christmases where she made skirts or dresses for each of her granddaughters, all of them similar but none the same. Mommy remembers one summer visit when Grammy sewed up a beautiful purple dress for one of her dolls out of a little leftover material she had. And a purple satin ribbon. It was always her favorite, not only because it was beautiful but because Grammy made it.

Ask any of her grandchildren and they will tell you how they remember nap time when they were little. Grandma always laid down with sleeping children and sang to them and rocked the bed until they were asleep. To this day, many of her grandkids can't sleep without rocking the bed with their foot.

Mommy would visit every summer, even before any of us kids were born. Just to sit and visit with Grammy and listen to her stories. They would often visit the Purple Turtle drive thru in town and order ice cream cones with cherries on top. And even when Mommy was grown, she still loved to hold Grandma's hand and talk for many hours. And they would always visit Grandma's favorite Chinese food restaurant for lunch.

I will miss my Grandma. As will Spencer and Mommy and all those who loved her so much...especially my Papa. I only wish she had gotten the chance to meet Cody. She would have loved him and his fuzzy head and would have kissed it, just like me. But now, she can watch over all of us and protect us. Our very own, super, special, shining, guardian angel.