Today my grandmother would have been 110 years old. She is one of the few people from my youth that I have vivid and detailed memories of.
One of the clearest memories was when she told me about Pearl Harbor. It was her 30th birthday. It was devastating and every birthday after was forever changed by that one day. Even 40+ years after the attack the emotion it brought to her still sits in my memory.
I have often tried to connect history with what I know of her. For instance, she loved to dance. She made her own dresses and danced twice a week. She watched Lawrence Welk religiously enthralled by the music and dancing. She enrolled me in tap dancing when I was 5 or 6 (something I wish I had kept up with). Was this because she was a teenager in the roaring 20’s? Was dancing a major part of the Great Depression which started when she was 18? When did her love of dancing begin? I never thought to ask her.
As an adult I have far more questions than I did as a kid. I would love to hear he tell me about the roaring 20’s, the great depression, life during WWII. Things I simply didn’t know about or have any understanding of back then.
For many today is a day to remember Pearl Harbor, and as a veteran it is just as significant a day as 9/11. But for me it’s a yearly reminder of my father’s mother. A woman who always tried to bring out the best in me. Always held me accountable for my actions or lack thereof. Who shared the joys of her life with me and loved me unconditionally. A devout Catholic yet pragmatic enough to stop me from falsely following her religious practices. A lover of life, but one who kept meticulous records and a perfectly maintained home.
I don’t know who she was as a friend, wife, mother ect. But I do know who she was as a grandmother. Someone who touched my life in ways that I will never forget.
And as and adult, a husband, a father I seek to touch those I love with the same lasting impact. May I live to be the grandfather my grandchildren never forget. May I be the father who's children love and respect him all their days. May I be the husband who shares a long meaningful life with his beloved bride.
And may I see my grandmother in heaven one day.
