Challenge No. 7 / What Has Had the Greatest Impact On Me? Why, It Was You!

A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on me...that's easy-my grandparents. Of course, every one in this picture has passed on (except the guy on the top right who is my grandma's brother), but I was blessed to know and love them until my early 20's. The two on the lower row are my great grandparents and they were wonderful.

Where do I begin? I have written on here several times about my grandma. She was my best friend. I didn't care how old she was, I felt myself when I was with her, she loved me no matter what, and she made me want to be a better version of myself. I would often go to her house after work, and she would be sitting in the kitchen playing cards with her friends, my grandpa in the living room watching old westerns. Their house smelled like popcorn and Bengay, but I loved to be there, it was home to me.

Instead of looking forward to parties on the weekend or hanging out with my friends, I usually packed my stuff and stayed at my grandma's. We would stay up all night vegging out and watching scary movies. In the morning, we would wake up, eat breakfast, and go shopping. This was our ritual, my childhood up until she passed, scary movies and shopping. I still think of her all the time. Her death really took a toll on me, and although I know she is in a better place, I miss her just as much now as I did when she first left us. There are many days I wish I could pick up the phone and call her, tell her I love her, and that I am coming to visit. There are many days that I would love to throw my arms around her and tell her thank you for always being there for me. There are many days that I wish I could tell her how beautiful she was and how much she meant to me, many days....

My great-grandparents were just as meaningful to me. How could they not be, they were the parents of my grandma! My great-grandma passed away when I was young, but I do still have vivid memories of her and her rose garden. She loved roses, she wore rose perfume and powder. I remember she used to say gals instead of girls, and she loved her grandchildren! Her and my great-grandpa had the type of marriage we all look up to, you know, the kind we don't see very often anymore. They were always side by side, and they truly loved each other.

My great-grandpa was around up until my late teens, and oh, how I loved that man! He was old, but he never lost his mind. He would tell us stories from his younger years, pull faces at the babies, and give the biggest and best hugs. He loved when I would stay at my grandma's (my grandma took care of him after her mother died), he would be up with us watching movies. He was one of the kindest, most gentle men I have ever known. I truly, truly miss him.

One person missing from this picture is my grandma's husband, Howard. He passed away a year to the day of my grandma. I believe that he didn't know what to do with himself once she was gone. I loved this man just as much as my flesh and blood grandparents. To me, he was my real grandpa and I felt blessed to have several (including my biological one). I wish I would have visited him more after my grandma passed, but I was grieving and felt weird at the house. I guess I didn't think his time here would be so short, but it was and I miss him immensely.

This blog cannot scratch the surface that these people have had on my life. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have been blessed with such a beautiful family. I still have my biological grandfather and his wife, Bev in my life and I love them every bit as much. When I was having a bad day, my grandpa once said to me, "Mandy, I love you and I will be yours until the day I die." And he has been ... he and Bev are always there, offering my husband and I a place to stay and whatever else we may need. They are wonderful and I, I am simply lucky.....