Ten years ago...

Today, ten years ago, my favorite person left and went to heaven.  She is my very dear Grandmother, Norma Loveless Worthen.  She brought such sweetness to my life and I miss her dearly.  Kenna was home sick today and so we, along with Cash stopped by the cemetery to take a moment to remember her.  These are some of my memories: 

I have lots of wonderful memories of her beautiful backyard.  It felt like it was my own world to explore.  Her back wall was covered with think ivy and in one corner were grape vines.  It makes my mouth water remembering how sour those tiny ones were.  I was always a little hesitant to go between her fruit trees, I don't remember why, I just remember the feeling, like it was a forbidden jungle.  I remember coming back from a camping trip and picking out pine cone seeds from the pine cones we found and then taking them inside and warming them in the microwave inside a damp paper towel.  They were so yummy.

Grandma always had the little snack size snickers bars in her drawer and french vanilla ice cream in her fridge.  

She would save her empty mustard bottles for us to use as sippy cups. 

My very favorite meal was her homemade chicken and noodles on top of mashed potatoes and she would let Mindy and I unroll the noodles and lay them out on her counter filled with flour for them to dry; the whole counter was covered with noodles, hundreds of them.  She would always sprinkle lots of pepper on her plate.  

I loved holding her hand and tracing my finger over the bulging blue veins on the top of her hand, I'm sure she hated them because it meant she was old but I loved them. 

Grandma had an old hair dryer. It came in a blue vinyl circle case, almost like it's own suit case with a long hose.  She would let me style her hair and then put make-up on her, this was my very favorite thing to do with her.  I can still remember the smell of the hair dryer.  My Mom does this with Kenna now and it makes me love my Mom more and more. 

Grandma wore red lips stick and sprayed Aqua Net hair spray on her hair, that always sat on the window sill in her bathroom.

She would send me birthday cards with a piece of gum inside when she was traveling.

She had an awesome royal blue velvet head board.

Grandma would chase Min and I around the house and I loved it when she would catch us.  

I have my Grandma's nose, butt and boobs (did have her boobs).  Neither of us liked any of them.

She sang songs to us like: "Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail", "It's Raining It's Pouring", "There's a Great Big Turkey", and my favorite that I now sing to my kids, "I Love You a Bushel and a Peck".

I loved laying my head in her lap and having her play with my hair and gently run her fingers around my face.

I loved that when I was a stubborn teenager, she listened to me complain and let me think she was on my side and let me know she loved me.

She was my special person and I wish she could have stayed longer.  I wish my kids could have her in their life.  I miss her so much and I can't wait to see her again.  I'm so grateful to my Father in Heaven for the blessing of eternal families.  

I will write more.  I just wanted to get this posted.