Grandma Ruthie

My father’s mother is turning 90 in a few days and this weekend will be a huge family celebration of her life. We have people coming in from all over the country to see her and be with her and enjoy this special time. She is quite a lady.
One of the things we are doing is to collect memories from everyone on fancy little note cards and we will be presenting them to her in a memory box we are making. After her birthday, she will be able to read through them, over and over again, jogging her memory and bringing a smile to her face, I’m sure.
My sister, Mary Jo, and I have vastly different memories than our other sisters, who came along 10 years later. We remember the “hay-day” of the parties and family gatherings at Grandma’s house. We had lots of cousins and second-cousins and assorted relatives who would congregate at Grandma’s for Christmas. Then one of the neighbors would dress up like Santa and bring all of us packages that had suddenly disappeared from under the tree. And it seemed that every year on Christmas Eve at Grandma’s, the snow would begin falling just before we left to go home.
Memories are important to our family. And collecting these memories for her has been an especially “memorable” time for me and my Aunt Betty, who is planning the party. Reflecting on the many friends Grandma has and the way that they have been close for so many years. One of the cards was signed, “Your friend of 56 years.” What more can you ask at age 90 than to be surrounded by friends and relatives who love you?
For the last few weeks Grandma has been staying in an assisted living home because of weakness in her legs. But after therapy, we hope she will be back to her home before the party. Until she went to there, she has kept a busy schedule every day: shopping and lunch with her friends on Thursdays, breakfast with retired co-workers on Tuesdays, hair appointments, walks in the neighborhood, and visits with her friends. Her life has been a joy to many people both in and out of our family circle.
And she can still recall so many good times, great memories, wonderful stories that we hope will be accumulated to share with the next generations. She is the oldest in our fifth-generation family.
So for the next few days before the party, the memory cards are directed to me and I have the chance to read them first, smile at the memories, try to remember who exactly the person is who sent it, and then place them carefully in her Memory Box. The whole thing has been as enjoyable for me as I hope it is to Grandma.
I am confident that over the next months and years, we will remember her party, the gathering of friends and family and the day that we officially celebrate her long life of 90 years. But here is to hoping we celebrate again in ten more years.
Happy Birthday Grandma!