Grandma

My grandmother died recently and I spoke at her funeral as the grandchild representative. I'm sharing this because I think we often take people for granted and don't think about what their lives really mean to us and that maybe it would help our relationships if we would just inventory what people really mean to us when they're still living. I'm sure it would help a lot of good relationships as well as those that are strained. I've altered my name to protect me from my previous posts. Thanks for reading:



As some of you know, I teach middle school, which many people would say you have to be a little crazy to do. Being a C-----, I’m highly qualified for the job.

As a teacher, you learn that people learn from every situation that they are in. But some of the best lessons learned are not those that prepare you for a standardized test, but those that teach you about life.

Grandma taught us all many lessons and I cherish the things that I learned.
I learned from her that nature is amazing, birds are beautiful, and you can still be in tune to the world around you by just taking some time in your backyard to see the beauty.

I learned that you’re never too old to learn something new.
I learned that there is no shame in standing up for what you believe in when you’re in the minority and you know in your heart it’s the right thing.

I learned that you can do the impossible, like raise 3 wild boys who all grew up to do good in this world and help make it a better place.

I learned that if you love to do something like paint, but you’re not a Van Gogh, you need to keep doing it if it makes you happy.

Show your art proudly. It shouldn’t be hidden away.

I learned that family is the most important thing. Each yearly visit I walked into her house feeling like a stranger and left feeling like I was losing a friend for another year.

Yesterday I was standing outside in the rain struggling through thoughts of some of the ugliness that life brings us.

As the rain poured down, I began to sadly think of Grandma. All I could see was gray, dreary things and all I could feel was the biting cold around me.

Suddenly a bright red cardinal, which was one of Grandma’s favorite birds, flew and landed in the tree right in front of me. We never see these birds in Colorado so I watched it closely. I noticed its beautiful scarlet color, and then I noticed the magnificently colored leaves of the tree it was in. The bird suddenly flew away and I saw the red and yellow trees shining, even in the rain, the beautiful green grass in the yards and I could hear the birds singing to each other from the trees.

I could almost feel Grandma with me and noticed that I didn’t feel as sad. She showed me that the word can be a beautiful place. You just need to take time and find the beauty.

Thanks for the lesson, Grandma.