Today’s my grandma’s birthday. She would have been 102. Grandma Helen, my mom’s mom, was part of the Greatest Generation. Born in 1920, she lived through the Depression, served during World War II, went into the workforce full-time after that, and lived a long life loving her family—who loved her deeply in return.
She was so special to me.
I was beyond fortunate to have such a wonderful relationship with her. I still remember reading with her as a little kid, and the feeling of her hands washing my feet in the bath. I remember dancing with her onstage to “A Wink and a Smile.” When I went off to college, she wrote me so many cards and letters, always including a little snippet of advice (and sometimes a newspaper clipping).
“Keep on dreaming and soon success will start—honestly.”
“Believe in yourself and the magic will happen.”
“Washing your face every night is one of the best things you can do for your skin.”
She was certainly ahead of her time; I didn’t know it then, but now I realize it, and I am grateful for the lessons she taught, by example.
Here are a few of my favorites:
- Say YES to adventure. Although my grandma was a great student when she attended college in the late 1930s and early 1940s, she was also an adventurous one. She’d sneak off campus with her friends to go swimming in the local swimming hole. Later, she traveled to China and Ireland with my Grandma Jessie. She was single for most of her adult life (more on that in a minute) and remarried when she was 70. I never heard her say she was too old or too scared or too anything to take on an adventure.
- Keep learning—and doing. Throughout those golden years, Grandma Helen continued dancing (she took tap and ballroom), and took different classes: doll-making, ceramics, and watercolor, to name a few. She played Mahjong and
- Do what you gotta do. In a decade when the divorce rate was very low (the 1950s), my grandparents divorced. A single mom, my grandma worked full-time as a Physical Therapist and managed to provide my mom with so many opportunities including sending her to Catholic school and world-class swim training.
- Be a good friend. After my dad’s mom, Grandma Jessie, died, my Grandma Helen and my dad’s dad, Grandpa Paul, moved in together. She’d stopped driving by then, so Grandpa was a roommate and chauffer … and a friend. They carpooled to all the family events and grandkids’ sporting events together, and enjoyed each other’s company.
- Go ahead, eat the ice cream. Make those everyday moments special. My grandma loved ice cream. I remember taking her shopping once, when I was in college, and she bought Coke and ice cream. That’s it. When I was in fourth grade, she’d pick me up from school each Tuesday and take me to my gymnastics lesson. Afterward, we’d go to the mall for dinner—and we always had a cinnamon roll for dessert. These weekly dinners were so simple—and so special.
The world has changed a lot since my grandma was born in 1920, but she always knew how to roll with the changes (even though I’m sure she’d be shocked by a lot of what happens in today’s world). Still, I believe these lessons are timeless.
What are some of your favorite lessons from the people you love?
