Grandma's Girl!

Sharon presenting Grandma with "The Mother of the Millinium" award during the family talent show portion of Grandma's surprise birthday celebration August 26, 2005

Last week I spent the entire week in Orlando, Florida on a business trip. Though it was a long week, professionally speaking it was very productive. Upon my return home, as always, I found a huge stack of mail. My birthday is coming up next week, and though I will be 41 years old when it shows up, my Grandmother has NEVER failed to send me a birthday card which always arrives early or right on time, and usually contains "a piece of change" as she calls it. Going through my mail on Friday night, I found an envelope from my Grandmother which obviously contained a card. Immediately, I assumed my birthday card had arrived early. Opening the envelop, I found not a birthday card, but a simple note card.

The note card was a spur of the moment Thank You from my Grandma for my having always been there for her whenever she needed me. She talked about how I have never said I was too busy to stop and attend to whatever she needed. Reading the card brought tears to my eyes. All of my life, my Grandma has been there to make sure that I was taken care of, though I lived with and was raised by my Mother who I love very much as well. However, my Grandma has always owned a piece of my heart that was all her own. Amazingly enough, even though she has 69 grandchildren, I have always known that I had my own piece of her heart as well, and even with all those cousins, brothers, and a sister to compete with, my piece of her heart was not small.

Receiving this card from my Grandma made my year! I think we all strive to make a difference in the lives of those we love, but oftentimes, we never know for sure. My Grandma, being the extraordinary person she has always been, took it upon herself to make sure that I don't have to wonder about the difference I make in her life, thereby giving me just one more thing to add to my long, long list of reasons that she is the person who influences me the most in becoming the person I hope to be...someone just like her!