Grams.

   After speaking with my grandma last night, I realized that there is so much I don't know about her. She really is fantastic, and she has so much knowledge to share. She has traveled to places I never imagined she had and she has the best outlook on life of anyone I have ever met. I truly believe that I could learn so much from her. When I wondered why she had never shared any of this with me before, I realized that I had never asked.

   Too often in our lives, we take people for granted. I certainly have taken my grandma for granted. I love spending time with her and seeing her, but I never really asked her about her life. She always asks me how I'm doing, and it has become so easy for me to tell her everything going on in my life. I hardly ever ask about hers or what activities interest her.

   For the second Christmas in a row, my grandma will be in Florida. Christmas without her here is not the same. Last year, all I could think about was how weird it would be for me to not see my grandma on Christmas. I didn't think about how  hard it was for her to have to spend the holiday season away from her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

   I have noticed that I have been a bit of a selfish person this past year. I have been thinking about what I can do to improve "my life" and make the days easier for me. I sigh and drag my feet when it comes to chores around the house or errands for my parents. I claim to be grateful for the things I have, but my actions do not particularly show that. My logic is a bit hypocritical.

   I find it strange that after a half hour of talking to my grandma, I found so many flaws with the way I have been living my life. What I found to be most interesting from our conversation was the fact that she had difficulties saying anything negative about anyone. She only spoke of the "good times" and positive memories. Even when she did mention hardships, she treated them as if they were minor obstacles in the grand scheme of life.
   While I was writing her answers, I wondered how she managed to stay so positive and keep such an optimistic look on life. Then I realized, she is so strong with her faith. Where there is faith, there are no worries or hardships, there are only minor obstacles. She need not dwell on the negative when there were so many better things and happy memories to recall.
   If everyone had the same mindset as grams, the world would be such a happy place. I can only hope that I can look at life the way she does. She is so joyful all the time, and her smiles really are contagious. I love how she laughs at anything I (or my sisters, cousins, etc.) say and the way she always has something nice to say about even the meanest people. She doesn't like to see the "bad" in people. She gives everyone the benefit of the doubt, no matter what they do. She truly is an inspiration, and I certainly will be making more of an effort to stay in touch with her.


Thanks for being such an amazing role model! I love you grams!



"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

Philippians 2:3-4