Goodbye Grandma September 13, 2007

Today my Grandma, Dorothy Elizabeth Mushett Haines passed away at 84 years. She is my mother's mother. She has lived in Kentucky for the past 7 years. My children and I made trips to visit her often. Our time with her there was very peaceful. We mostly sat around and visited, leaving the house now and then to go to Cracker Barrel restaurant or to spend time with Uncle Bill and family. It has been a big part of my children's life. They know their great-grandma, where some children are lucky if they have ever met their great-grandma. We will miss many things. We will miss her great sense of humor. Even in the worst of moments, she could find something to giggle about. Sometimes she laughed just for the sake of being a "stinker". In fact I think she was happiest when she was purposely being a stinker. She was definitely feisty. We will miss the scent of her home. She loved her perfumes and lotions so her home always had a flowery smell from the hundreds of perfumes she collected. We will miss her hospitality. While I always served her with cleaning and helping her with whatever she needed done, she served us too. She always offered us her silk pillowcases (reserved only for her best guests). She always shared her favorite candies. And when I devoured her chocolate orange sticks (my favorite... I love how she kept them cold in the fridge) she was sure to have a box just for me the next time we came. She was very generous and always bought me a tank of gas and took us out to dinner. She spoiled the girls with prizes even when I said "no". She loved to see the look on my face when they arrived at the car with the treat I said they could not have. When she asked me if I wanted something I would say "no I am fine" and she quickly scolded me with "I didn't ask how you were feeling, I asked if you wanted...." I guess she wanted to spoil me too. Emma will remember Grandma always had fresh fruit around. Emma inherited Grandma's love for the citrus: lemons, grapefruit, oranges. Both Shailey and Emma inherited her artistic side. We will miss her drawing for them whatever they requested. We will miss playing card games with her. We will miss her life stories; both the happy and the sad. We will miss her faithful and heartfelt prayers each night. She always offered detailed prayers for us. It always tickled me that she would even put in a good word for Glenn when he was not there, thanking the Lord for him being a good father and husband to our little family. When it was time to leave, she prayed for specific safety details for our drive home: that our car would "function properly" and that "all four tires would function in the way they were designed." Her prayers provided me a lot of comfort. We never did have a problem driving home... not even when we drove through a tornado. We will miss her waving at us from under her chin like she did my entire life. Last night I dreamed about Grandma. When I saw her, she said "hello beautiful". It made me cry. Grandma I miss you. Grandma I love you.