≡ My Grandmother ≡

My Grandmother lived in Yuma, Arizona and each summer, when it got warm enough for her thin blood as she would say, she would come back home to Michigan.  My grandmother was one of the most genuinely generous and kindhearted people I've ever met.  She was also one of the funniest.  She had these sayings that would crack all of us up like how she would refer to us as "darlings of my heart" or when it was chilly outside (which was below seventy degrees in her book), she would say "I wouldn't go outside if I were you, you'll freeze your fracas."  I still don't know what a "fracas" is, but it sure sounded funny. 

Everyone loved my grandmother and she loved everyone.  We would spend a lot of the summer traveling around to visit different family members she hadn't seen all year, and the initial reception was always the same--exclamations of glee from my grandmother at seeing whoever we were visiting and equal outpourings of affection from the visitees.  Then, most likely, the person would launch into some story with a moral that was always intended to teach us the same lesson:  what an exceptionally wonderful person my Grandmother was.

Even my grandmother's physical appearance exuded good-naturedness.  She had  bright blue eyes that twinkled when her gigantic smile emerged, which was pretty much all of the time.  And, she had a laugh that could elevate even the darkest mood. No one could resist cracking up when my grandmother told one of her stories that culminated in her loud, deep, and dramatic guffaw.

When I think back to making those treks around Southwestern Michigan I imagine my Grandmother as a sort of Fairy Godmother who spread happiness to everyone her lips touched (she was always very liberal with her kisses).  If you sniff the air in this part of the world, I think you can still smell the characteristic odor of her spit that tended to linger on our cheeks.

For many, summer's warmth, freedom, and long, lazy days make it a welcome season.  But, as a young child, I had another huge reason to look forward to the summer months.  For, the summer breezes blew my grandmother into our life, a person whose radiance and warmth outshined even the hottest summer sun.