My Gran

My Gran used to love going on vacation to Hawaii. Mom and Dad have lava rock she brought home with her for us.

And she wore a mumu back in the 70's and 80's when that was "in".

I remember the swirly fabric and the smell of her perfume when I was a young child and we would sit together on her couch or out on her back deck.

I bought this stamp simply because it reminded me of my Gran.

She is in a nursing home now and doesn't really know anyone anymore.

Makes you realise that life isn't fair.

But what I'll always remember is my Gran, independent woman, widowed really young with a young son still at home. She moved to the "big city" and worked in a dress shop. I always thought that was so romantic, that she worked at what I thought was a very upscale ladies dress shop down town. I always thought she dressed so smartly too. If I'd known the word I would have thought she was chic back then. She ended up being an independent business woman and owne her own wallpaper business, Bertha's Wallpaper Patch. She sold it and hung it up for people. There must have been an artist somewhere inside of her.

She grew up poor in one of the poorest spots in southern Saskatchewan. Beautiful country if you ask me, the sandhills, but a hard hard hard place to try and farm and make a living. But they did it until my grandfather died when I was a small child of a heart attack and she was left to raise their youngest son on her own.

My Gran and the cereal she used to give us. The only time we ever got sugary cereal was at her house. Mom and Dad never told us we couldn't have it there but at home we were never allowed Lucky Charms or Corn Pops or Frosted Flakes. Gran got them for us though.

My Gran is the smell of fresh dried sheets on the line. Everytime I hang up my sheets or smell them I think if her. The sheets were always freshly washed and hung to dry at her house and there is just something about the way clean, line dried sheets feel and smell. It is pure heaven if you ask me.

My Gran was Yatzee and Uno. She was the best at Yatzee and could spot a full house across the room I swear. She knew exactly how to play the game to get the most points possible. Uno was a game she played with my brother and I when we were kids - it was easy to understand and fun to play.

My Gran was the baton she bought me when I was really young and S-O-F-T icecream. When I was even younger than the would be baton twirler me, she used to ask Mom and Dad if she could take us for S_O_F_T icecream. She would spell soft and then say icecream and we knew what was going on. I remember my parents telling the stories about it. I'm sure the way she said it was no accident... It was designed so we'd figure it out and it would be harder for Mom and Dad to say no to her if we were standing there begging!

My Gran in her chic mumu.

At least to my 10 year old self she was.

I loved her.

My Gran loved me.

I knew that and that was what was important.

Life is simpler when you're 10 and it's 1981.