My Grandma

I love this picture of my grandma. It makes me think of all the things about her I never knew, a reminder that she had a vibrant life before being a grandma. The inscription says "To remind you again of how much I love you--Lou." I never heard my grandpa call grandma Lou. Her name was Mary Lou. She passed away in March at the age of 81. I found this picture at my grandpa's house. I couldn't resist posting it here. I will soon have it on my wall too. I need to get the picture of Grandpa from the same time period (he's a handsome dude). I think it was taken in the mid 40s. I love it and it will soon be on my wall.

Gramma used to tell me stories before I went to bed. Here's the one I remember the most:
When my dad was in early elementary he wanted to be the line leader at school because the line leader was the first one out the door to go home. But he was never fast enough at getting his coat, hat, boots, and mittens on. One day he asked to go to the bathroom. He was gone a long time. At the end of the day, dad was the first person to get dressed in his outdoor gear. The teacher was puzzled, for a moment, since all the other students were still standing by their cubbies trading mittens, boots, and hats.

Here's my second favorite that I just heard for the first time. When Grandpa was eight or nine, he got a brand new bike. It was red, with big white tires and he was proud of it. He would hop on that bike and go zipping around his small Indiana town (what town, dad?). He was old enough to avoid pedestrians. He turned the corner, pedaling fast and there was little Mary Lou. It wasn't love at first sight, more like a hit and run. Grandpa knocked her down and kept going without looking back. Grandpa's aunt Rosie always said, "And she got you back for that a hundred times." Or something like that...where are the notes I took?

Love you Gram. There are so many more stories I wish I knew, so many I should have asked about.