Grandmom is awesome

I wrote a blog post last year on how awesome my grandfather is, so it’s about time I wrote about how awesome my grandmother is. I’m not sure where to begin. My maternal grandparents have been a huge part of my life. I mentioned some of these things in the post about my grandfather, but they bear repeating. I think this post might turn into a disjointed series of stories, so here we go.

When I was younger, my grandparents often hosted extended family dinners on Sundays in the fall (and other random times during the year). My grandmother is a fantastic cook and baker. Her meals were delicious, as were her homemade desserts. I say that I inherited my culinary skills from my grandmom. Here’s something that exemplifies the kind of awesome that my grandmother embodies. We always had dessert after these meals. Sometimes it would be tapioca or rice pudding. I don’t like tapioca or rice pudding. Did I go without dessert? Nope. Grandmom made vanilla pudding especially for me so that I could have dessert, too. My grandmother’s meals and desserts have become the stuff of legend in my family. 1-2-3-4 cake, chocolate cake, crescent cookies, mini cheesecakes…lasagna, cavatellis, vegetable soup, escarole soup (that’s Italian wedding soup to non-Italian families), eggplant parmigiana, scalloped potatoes…anything she ever made was the best ever of that dish. My grandparents hosted holiday dinners, too. My parents, aunts, uncle, cousins, and I gathered at their house for Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving. My grandmom cooked everything. When the holiday dinner was turkey, my grandmother cooked an extra turkey breast just so everyone would have leftovers to take home. This is how thoughtful and awesome she is.

I was a good student. From when I was small through high school, there were very few times when I didn’t get straight As. I’m not bragging- I’m just stating a fact. My grandparents took me out to dinner after each marking period/semester to celebrate my good grades. I loved those dinners with just the three of us together. They were great. Anyone who knows my grandfather knows that he is a TERRIBLE tipper. He hates to tip. I think his barber gets a quarter for cutting his hair. I’m actually serious about that. Grandmom was always in charge of tipping when we went out to eat. Pop-Pop says that the waiters and waitresses love when they see Grandmom coming into the restaurant because she tips them so well.

When I was in college in Rhode Island, my grandparents drove up once every year to spend a weekend with me. They met my friends. We went out to eat. It was fun, and it meant a lot to me. My grandparents used to visit my cousin in Florida every year, too. They drove all over the place! My grandmother kept a diary of each trip that she and my grandfather took together. I always thought that was a great idea.

My grandmother goes everywhere with dog treats in her handbag. All the family dogs go running to Grandmom because they know what she has for them. It’s pretty funny. The same goes for when the dogs go to my grandparents’ house. Kenobi runs to Grandmom like a nut and ignores everyone else until he gets his treats. That’s treats with an “s.” More than one.

Many Saturday mornings, Kenobi and I go with my mom to spend time with my grandparents. Kenobi sits on Grandmom’s lap, and they both love it. We chat and watch The Golden Girls. It’s fun.

I don’t usually put photos of others on my blog, but I don’t think my grandparents would mind me sharing these. I took them over ten years ago at my cousin’s wedding in Florida. The DJ invited all the married couples to dance and gradually asked couples to stop according to how long they had been married. My grandparents were the last ones on the dance floor.

I could say that my grandmother is kind and good and wonderful, but then I’m just listing adjectives. She has had a series of health problems in recent years, yet she never complains about it. She still loves to laugh. She is still the nicest person in the world. She and my grandfather still kid each other like always. I’m so very lucky, not only because my grandmother is so wonderful, but also because she and my grandfather have been there for me my whole life. I’m grateful for that.