It's a Wonderful Life

On October 10, 2009 a beautiful life passed from this world. While my grandmother left peacefully in her sleep, I am filled with sorrow, but still very thankful that I was blessed to spend almost 30 years of life getting to know Omi. I have so many wonderful memories, yet I had hoped there would still be many more. I find it amazing to think that I have been alive for a third of her life -- she was 90 years old!

To help ease my sadness, I was determined to find a short essay that I wrote about her 4 years ago for my 8th Grade English class. I was very relieved I had still had it! As a descriptive writing assignment, I asked my students to write a real-life character sketch of someone older than them, and then to hopefully give that person their creation as a gift. This is what I shared with my students, and was lucky enough to share with my grandmother as well. I am comforted by the knowledge that she knew how much I loved, admired, and respected her.

"I have always admired my grandmother, Mary, whom I call Omi, ever since I was a little girl. For as long as I can remember, she has been stylish and beautiful in person and in photographs. As a child, I would gaze at the black and white photographs from her wedding day, July 25, 1945, and dream of one day having a white gown, veil, and bouquet as perfect as hers. It wasn’t so much that I was planning my future wedding day, but that I would wonder and hope that one day I would grow up to be as beautiful as she was. So, you would probably think that sixty years after her wedding day, when she carefully pulled out her wedding dress, that would be the most magical moment we have shared together.

True, it is one, but the small every day things are the traits that I cherish most about her; from her permed silver hair, to the eye glasses that leave little marks on her nose. It is the sound of her high-pitched giggle that makes me break into a smile, and the sight of her perfect painted nails, that remind me to take better care of my own. It is the lessons she so eagerly teaches about cooking, baking, knitting, and sewing, that leave me hoping I can master those skills like her. It is the three kisses to say hello and goodbye that remind me that her love for us couldn’t fit into just one.

I love to poke fun at her soap operas, and the fact that she has seen practically every episode of “Jeopardy,” “Wheel of Fortune,” and surprisingly, “The Simpsons.” I may tease her, but I truly admire her ability to solve puzzles, whether they are on television, or in the newspaper. Most of all, I love her stories. I enjoy hearing about her days as a teenager, and I love the dreamy look she gets in her eye when she talks about how she met and fell in love with my grandfather. Yes, I have heard the same stories many times now, but I admit, I never get tired of them."

Now, in a few days, my family will be telling familiar stories. This time, we will be the ones waving goodbye, and blowing kisses until she is out of sight.