Happy Birthday to My Grandmother

My grandmother was born on this day in 1903.  She had a great marriage to my grandfather until he passed in 1969. She was a wonderful mother to my mom and my uncle.  I don't remember ever seeing her upset or in a foul mood.  She had the most upbeat personality and I could talk to her about ANYTHING and she would just sit there and listen for however long I wanted to talk (and with my big mouth that could sometimes be a LONG time)! When we cleaned out her apartment to get ready to move her into assisted living I was lucky enough to get some of her possessions.  I got her yellow couch that she kept in her spare bedroom in her apartment.  I also got some metal mixing bowls that I use frequently. When I went through my many years of college she was one of my biggest supporters.  I remember when I was debating whether to take a typing class in high school she said, "Cathy, you can ALWAYS get a job if you learn to type!"  How very true that was.  All of my jobs I have had have involved some amount of typing.  My daughter, my husband and my stepson were lucky enough to meet my grandmother.  She passed away when I was pregnant with my son at 101 years old, so unfortunately he never got a chance to meet her.  My grandmother traveled to many foreign countries.  She would bring back dolls from the different countries she visited.  My grandmother and I played endless card games of  "Canasta" and boy, did she have a poker face!  One of the times I spent the night at her apartment she invited me to play cards with her lady friends. What a cool group of  women!  One thing my grandmother never did was learn to drive.  The story goes that when she tried to get lessons the instructor told her she would never be a good driver, so she never learned.  She relied on the bus or others to help her get around.  She would tell me how growing up in Missouri there would be tornadoes.  She lived through the Great Depression and the Titanic sinking.  My grandmother was truly a remarkable woman and a wonderful storyteller. I'm thinking about you today Grandma - Happy Birthday!!!!