Grandma.

I didn’t have a mom growing up, and as much as I loved my dad, I didn’t always feel very connected with him emotionally. My very favorite relative was always my Grandma Donna.

She lived two hours away from us and we would talk on the phone every single night. I remember before cell phones, I always had to wait until after 8 or 9 PM when we had unlimited/free long distance. We kept prepaid phone cards for the times when we had to call outside of those hours.

Most of my favorite childhood memories are with her or at her house. I spent my school breaks there, several weeks every summer. She taught me how to cook, how to drive, how to fish, how to crochet… she was simply the best. I miss those times at her house more than I can say. I miss her the way she was before her health and her mind started failing her. Before her dementia got to this point.

She never remembers my baby’s name. (Or my husband’s name.) She doesn’t know his birthday, or really anything about him. I’m sure she’s in bed tonight and doesn’t even remember that we were there today. But he knows her, and she knows him. You can see it in both their eyes. There’s instant and unconditional love there.

The woman who essentially raised me. The boy who made me a mother. I will forever cherish this picture.