Today would have been my dear, sweet Grandmother’s 95th birthday. I was never able to see her very often since we lived so far from her, but I thought about her often (even if I was remiss in calling her when I should). I did try to send her flowers for special occasions, though – Granny’s first name was Daisy, so I always tried to make sure that any arrangement that was sent had lots of daisies in it.
Last year (2015), we were able to get all of the girls together to go and visit Granny for her birthday – we had lots of fun just hanging out with her! (I sent her some flowers too….)
I’m the oldest of her grandchildren, born to her oldest daughter; one of my favorite pictures is that of Granny, my Mom, me, and my oldest daughter, Rachel, when she was a baby:
And here we are, recreating that picture 27 years later (we tried to convince my Mom to hold Rachel on her hip again, but she was having none of it….):
When I think about all of the things that happened in my grandmother’s lifetime, I am truly amazed – when she was 7 years old, Charles Lindbergh made his historic flight across the Atlantic Ocean; forty-two years later, man walked on the moon (she even got to brag to her friends and family that her son-in-law was one of many who helped to make that possible).
She saw amazing changes in medical science – the development of vaccines which prevented people from contracting potentially fatal illnesses, the miracle of antibiotics, the discovery of how DNA works, organ transplants, prenatal ultrasounds, cancer treatments, and so much more all originated in her lifetime.
In her lifetime, she saw the advent of indoor plumbing, central heat and air, and homes wired for electricity. She saw telephone technology advance from an expensive luxury with clunky equipment into a lightweight, portable gadget that literally put the world at peoples’ fingertips.
Sadly, Granny passed away in May of 2015. I am so glad that we were able to see her one last time. We miss her terribly, but it’s nice to think that she and Paw-Paw are together again – this time for all eternity.