Missing Her...Missing Them

This post is a little harder to write but there's a very dear reason I want to share a few thoughts today. It is always my intention to write from a positive perspective because we truly believe that life is a journey of blessings. Yet as we all know, life is indeed blessed but sometimes not easy. Today is one of those days...but the blessings involved far outweigh the challenges.

Seven years ago today, my precious Grandmother left this earth for her eternal home. It has not been easy missing her during these years. From my earliest memories, "Grandma Jenny" was a very important part of my life. She never owned a car. She never had a computer. She lived a modest and quiet life. She resided in a small town in the mountains of Virginia. She never went to college. She never held public office. But she is one of the most influential people I have ever known and only on the other side of heaven will we know how many lives she touched in her ninety-one years!

Grandma had a heart that knew no boundaries. She loved everyone she could and tried to treat everyone fairly and respectfully...even those who mistreated her. She had a way of making each individual feel loved, valued, cherished and important. She had a contagious laugh and it was easy to forget that she was decades older than her grandchildren. She was so "young at heart" that she brought life, joy, laughter and enthusiasm to everyone around her. Her memory was amazing. She could describe someone's words, clothes, actions and appearance decades later. She could repeat a conversation verbatum...from many years ago. She would tell me how to cook something without ever looking in a cookbook while I busily wrote down the instructions so I wouldn't forget her words five minutes later! :) (And oh, how she could cook!) Grandma knew what was important. She lived a life of unconditional love, fairness, forgiveness, encouragement, faith, kindness, peace, patience, commitment, family, courage and confidentiality. She never forgot a birthday, anniversary or the birth of her grandchildren...or even the weather that accompanied an eventful day! She told me about living through the Great Depression, hearing about the Titanic as a young child, working hard to provide for her children and assisting a doctor who made house calls to deliver babies! She sang. She played piano. She saw so much in her lifetime. She learned much. She loved much. She taught much. She is missed very much.

I miss visiting her on my lunch hours when I worked at the bank in her town. I miss talking to her on the phone as a child, student...and wife. I miss our slumber parties! I miss the letters we wrote while I was in college! I miss seeing her at Christmas time and wishing her a Happy Birthday in February. I miss the secrets we shared, the laughter we enjoyed, the dreams we had and those late night chats. But she will always have a special place in my heart...and in our family. For when our baby girl is placed into our arms, she will be named "Jenna Elizabeth" and called "JennaBeth"...and one of Grandma Jenny's dreams will finally come true. A short time before she passed away, Grandma commented that of all the grandchildren she had, she had always hoped that one would have her name. I promised her that if another baby girl ever joined our family, she would indeed bear Grandma's name. Little did I realize how soon Grandma would leave this world...and little did we realize that our journey to our baby girl/s would take us halfway around the world years later.

We miss you, Grandma Jenny. We love you so much. Someday we will hold our new baby girl and whisper for the very first time to our Jenna Elizabeth that she is loved dearly and is named after you!! Whenever we speak or hear JennaBeth's name already, I immediately think of your precious life. Oh, how we miss you! Oh, how we miss our baby girl/s! Oh how we long for the day when we will all be together. I can hardly wait for you to meet your namesake, Grandma!

Until then, our hearts ache for our precious Grandma Jenny, (and all our dear Grandparents.) And our hearts ache for our sweet little baby girl/s. But what a joy it is to have known those who came before us in this journey, to enjoy those who walk beside us now and to look forward to those we will soon welcome into our family. Life is indeed a journey of blessings past, present and future. We love, we miss, we cherish and we hope. We are indeed grateful...and blessed.
Cherishing each loved one in our journey,
Terri & Family