[InnerKnitter]

My grandmother passed away today due to complications of old age and Alzheimer's. She was 81, is survived by her 8 children and 18 or 19 grandchildren, I can never remember...

She was a spunky lady all the way to the end and I wish I knew her better especially before the Alzheimer's advanced to where she couldn't converse easily. So in memory of Grandma Adelaide I just thought I'd post a few of my favorite stories.

About a year before DH and I got married, she was already living in an assisted living facility. I had gone to visit her with my parents and she was having a hard time remembering the order of things and what facts went with what person. She looked at me and asked me, "When are you going to have babies? I want more babies." My mom was a little shocked and told her MIL that my aunt had just had a baby about 2 months before that. My grandmother, sharp as always said, "I know, but I want great-grandbabies." DH and I have been trying for the past year, though we hadn't started telling family yet. I'm sad that she won't get to see the great-grandbabies that she wanted but glad that her medical struggles are over.

As a kid she grew a beautiful garden in her small back yard. She grew flowers and herbs and my grandfather grew fruits and vegetables. I can remember being about 7 or 8 and her telling me and my cousins to go in the backyard and pick some raspberries to go on our ice cream. Well the 4 or 5 of us would go out and eat about two-thirds of what we picked and only brought a small amount of berries in with us. Grandma would take them and wash them, smiling at our juice stained lips and grab a bag of berries she'd picked and frozen earlier from the freezer.

She was a strong woman who did an amazing job raising 8 kids with not a lot to do it on. She had a strong sense of family history and incredible faith in a God who loved her. I'll miss her.