1oo Things I love about my Grandma T

1. Her smile – it always seemed sincere and earned
2. Her voice – it was raspy & distinct and warmed my heart
3. How loving she could be – she wouldn’t hesitate to tell you that she loved you either
4. Her honesty – she would openly express her opinion (
5. Ornaments – she made so many creative and original ornaments we have and hang on our tree
6. Her thoughtfulness – she’d make things with intention on who they were for
7. Her choice in finding and keeping Grandpa Dick – he was an unforgettable treasure in our family and it was obvious how in love they are/were
8. Her willingness to help – she would take care of us as the closest-by babysitter when we were children
9. Her inquisitiveness – she would ask you to confirm things she could clearly recall (quite accurately)
10. Her love of Yahtzee – she played to win and often times did
11. Her patience – she could show you how to do something very calmly and slow enough for the learner to understand
12. Her energy – even with her rollator, she cruised around the apartment at a considerable clip
13. Her matriarch status – she exemplified leadership and gave us all gifts of being strong willed
14. Her touch – holding her hand conveyed warm and sincere love
15. Her creativity – she passed along much of this to a lot of us too
16. Her ability to crochet – her ability far surpassed many of us with terrific creations
17. Her time that she was willing to freely give to others
18. Her love of animals – from making stuffed versions of them to caring for and closely observing them
19. Her pies – she could make many yummy kinds of them and often shared them
20. Her watchful nature – in thinking of others and being observant
21. For traditionally hosting our Christmas Eve gathering throughout our childhood and young adult years
22. Vacation memories and many family travel adventures together
23. Her dedication to family – even taking care of her younger brother in her advanced years
24. Her positive disposition even through challenges and setbacks
25. Her loyalty to family
26. Her willingness to learn and even go back to school to earn her degree.
27. Her commitment to donating blood
28. Her original fashion sense
29. Her amazing poppyseed and nutbread which she used to make in bulk
30. For cooking tips like adding salt to the water in boing eggs so the shells peel easier
31. For my favorite rice pudding recipe
32. For handwritten recipes that she would sit down on the spot and write out for me on the fly.
33. For frilly washcloth and towel edging
34. For problem solving capabilities – whether it be for a lamp or in life
35. For family support through thick and thin
36. For being there in times of need in so many different ways
37. For her love of crossword puzzles
38. For telling me about Freedent – the special gum for “special” teeth
39. For the love of bananas &toast
40. For her sweet tooth and watching her enjoy being like cookie monster
41. For her favorite dish of shrimp scampi
42. For her willingness to try new foods, even at 99 years old
43. For her determination to do things herself
44. For her love of plants and flowers
45. For her bold color choices
46. For fun and furry pencil toppers she would make for us
47. For may funny mouth poses when her mouth wasn’t ready for a picture
48. For being a dedicated and supportive Mom
49. For being a wonderful grandmother
50. For showing us how to fit life into a trailer home
51. For the smell of moth balls when things were retrieved out of storage
52. For beautiful quilts with distinctive patterns
53. For amazingly color coordinated crocheted dresses on bed dolls
54. For tiny felt monkeys with jiggly eyes
55. For booze hound alcohol bottle covers
56. For many belly laughs
57. For so much time that she willingly gave to others
58. For her appreciation of a new pair of slippers and getting to put them on her as if she was Cinderella
59. For being a treasured great grandmother, stressing and exemplifying the great part
60. Extending love even further to great-great grandchildren
61. For always being real and genuine
62. For always wearing basically the same style of glasses for as long as I can remember
63. For coming up to visit, even out of her comfort zone but still willing to see and be with her family
64. For treating us to the special make your own breakfast yourself place at Old Spanish Sugar Mill in DeLeon Springs, FL
65. For being there in a pinch when the unexpected arose as we were growing up
66. For making Grubb Road a familiar place to us
67. For accommodating so many family requests through so many years
68. For a long life of being there for us for a very long time
69. For keeping pictures and recirculating them back to us as unexpected memoirs
70. For the unforgettable orange flowery couch
71. For showing interest and asking questions that showed that you were paying attention
72. For your dedication to hockey and passing on that tradition to our family
73. For a fun family pumpkin pie story and the requirement of it being baked rather than stove top
74. For checking under the napkin on Perry’s plate at Thanksgiving
75. For your care and assistance when my Dad got sick
76. For amazingly dark hair that kept its color much longer than most of us
77. For the curly thick hair that some family members inherited
78. For keeping roots in at the childhood farm house
79. For Polish heritage
80. For being a classy lady
81. For being an admired and treasured Aunt
82. For making my kids feel special as we transitioned from Grandma T to Great Grandma Gen
83. For valuing family
84. For having a unique relationship with every family member and friend
85. For respectfully tolerating difficult and severed family relationships for the greater good of family ties
86. For wanting to see nature and delighting in it
87. For being extremely observant
88. For being the rock of our family
89. For determination to figure things out
90. For finding use or unexpected things with creative eyes and hands
91. For open arms that extended comfort
92. For making the word okay a three-syllable word
93. For answering the phone even when it required getting up at the age of 99
94. For being tolerant of the many picture takers in our family
95. For handpicked cards for birthdays
96. For sending monetary gifts in cards for many years
97. For asking questions specific to individuals
98. For being cooperative
99. For making sure we felt cared about
100. For being a true original human being