100 Posts in 100 Days
Today is an important day. Ten members of my family have gathered in Illinois and we will go to the small town where my grandparents lived when they were young and inter their ashes. And then we will come back to Chicago to do one of their very favorite things: go to a baseball game. And not just any game, but to see the Cubs play at Wrigley Field!
My grandpa died several years ago as a result of a car accident. My grandma died from COVID during the pandemic. We had a zoom memorial for her. For today’s post, I’m sharing what I said at her memorial.
“A moment lasts all of a second, but the memory lives on forever.”
Living long-distance from Grandma my whole life, I have a collection of moments that span the years:
- As a child, the arrival of the Beckleys just after December 25, which meant a 2nd holiday celebration was on the way!
- The sights and sounds of the island of Kwajalein as a 9 year old. Playing on Bunker Hill, bike riding, Emon beach, the salt water pool.
- Visits to California with trips to the mall, water aerobics and a trip to Lawrence Welk Village to see a production of Brigadoon. Lake San Marcos is also where I learned to mix a perfect scotch and water!
- Lunch or brunch at “the club”, no matter what city and state she was living in. She was a social woman.
- The Girls Weekend in Montana, when she was in her 80s and I was in my 30s. Unbeknownst to her, my circle of friends has since called her “The Party Grandma”. Keep reading…
- The first time I visited her at Lembrook, where she lived the last years of her life, and she offered to mix cocktails. She was a short and small in stature. She ordered her meals in or ate at the on-site restaurants. So, when she went to her “bar”, she opened her oven to reveal the waterford crystal, silver trays, and the well stocked spirits!
These are just a few of the many moments that stay with me.
There is also a moment that repeated itself over and over for the first 18 years of my life. Every year, on October 11, I would open an envelope and find 2 things inside: a Happy Birthday card and a check that would be taken to the bank to buy a United States series EE Savings Bond. Now, I have to admit, it was incredibly more exciting when the Beckleys came to town and to have Dad and Grandpa take us on a trip to Toys R Us and come home with things like Easy Bake ovens and sewing machines, much to the chagrin of Mom and Grandma. Those were way more fun than a piece of paper that got stored away, year after year.
Then came the year 1991 and my entrance into college. It was time to pay for the first quarter of tuition. I gathered up a collection of those Series EE Bonds, the face value matching the amount on the tuition bill. I went off to my local bank to cash them in. And what I received was several times the face value! In fact, those bonds payed 1 full year of tuition and entire college career’s worth of books and supplies. Those 18 “forgettable” moments added up to an incredible legacy. One that still lives today because I use that college degree nearly every day of my life. Those moments opening those cards every year are a legacy courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa. And I am grateful to them.
Just one more thing. As a child, I was not so fond of my “old fashioned” middle name. Especially if I was in trouble and heard, “Shannon Mae” exclaimed by mom. But today, I am proud to be granddaughter of Daisy Mae (maternal grandmother) and of Norma Mae Beckley (paternal grandmother).
May you rest in peace, Grandma and Grandpa.