My Grandma

As many of you know, my Grandma recently passed away. I was able to go home for the funeral and see all of my family. I feel like writing a bit about my Grandma.



Grandma Tena was the only grandma I had. My other grandma passed away when I was four, and I do know that she was a wonderful woman and grandma, I have very few memories of her. Grandma Tena was so great she probably equaled about 4 average grandma's. She lived only 10 minutes away and we were at her house almost every day. I remember there was a little picture framed in her hallway that said, "There's no place like home, except Grandma's." That was so true. It was our second home. We never knocked, the door was always unlocked, and we knew it was a place where we were safe and warm. Grandma was always cooking something delicious, making a beautiful quilt, or preparing to do some kind of service for someone. You would usually walk in and find her in the kitchen, in her sewing room, or outside watering her flowers. Grandpa could be found watching Westerns on TV, in his wood-working room, or mowing the lawn or tending the garden.

At Grandma's funeral, she requested there be a time for her children and grandchildren to get up and share a memory of her. I found that to be the hardest thing. How do you single out one memory? I know some of my friends had grandparents that would take them on vacations, or something big like that. Grandma and Grandpa never took me on a vacation. They never spent a lot of money on each of us. But what they did give us was a perfect example of how to live. Grandma was never happier than when she was cooking for her family, cleaning her house, or making something for someone. She always said her greatest joy came from her children and grandchildren. She woke early, was productive every day, and always made anyone who came to her house feel special. She would go to the ends of the earth to make you a quilt in your favorite color, or make you your favorite kind of pie. Grandpa worked hard; for years he ran a farm and worked full time at the Ford Factory. He retired, and you could see the satisfaction that came from a life of working hard and providing for your family. They were happy with their modest home and made it a beautiful welcoming place. I can't even remember the number of times I went to garage sales with Grandma, or went with her to get her hair done, or to take Meals on Wheels to senior citizens in Kearney, or spent the night at her house with my sisters or cousins, or sat on the back porch just talking in the summer evenings, or eating a delicious meal at her house. On my first day of Kindergarten, Grandma came to our house early in the morning to curl my hair, and helped me put on the pretty dress she made me just for that special day. There's no way to describe how big of an impact Grandma and Grandpa had on my life. They made my childhood seem magical.

I am sad that Grandma is gone, but my sadness is mostly selfish. I'm sad that I won't see her, or that my children won't get to have the same experiences with her that I did. But I know that she is so happy to be with Grandpa again, and her brothers and sisters and parents and friends, and Jesus and Heavenly Father. She lived a long, productive good life. She was married to Grandpa for 63 years. They had joys and pains, times of sunshine and times of rain. We've decided to name our little girl Caroline Virginia Rhoads. Grandma's first name is Virginia. It must be said that she never liked the name Virginia, and she went by her middle name of Christine, or even shortened to Tena, but I have always thought that Virginia is beautiful and there are already other grandkids and great-grandkids named Christine. I hope that little Caroline will have parts of her Great Grandma in her. I hope she enjoys the simple things in life, and that she loves serving others and that she can be happy and satisfied without having to have lots of material things. I hope she's hard working, faithful, loving, and giving, just like her great-grandma.

I have always wanted to be a home-maker and full-time mother. I have never wanted a career or have aspired to be a CEO or anything like that. I do value education and I am so glad I was able to go to college and get a degree, and maybe someday when my kids are in school and do not need me as much I will get a Masters in Library Sciences, and work in that field. But my goal has always been to have my kids, stay home with them, teach them, love them, make them breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and make our home a welcoming loving place. I think I got that example from my mom and Grandma. Grandma got such joy from it. She was the best example to me of the satisfaction that comes by living your life for others. It was really hard for Grandma as she got older to not be able to do things for herself, let alone for others. Her independent spirit was hard to give up. She was always thinking of others and serving until the end. When I called her in October and told her we were having a girl, my mom told me she got so excited. She asked mom to get out a pattern for a baby quilt and her embroidery things. She started on one square. She didn't get very far and her stitches weren't as even as they are on some of the other baby quilts she made earlier, but I know that she wanted to do things for our little Caroline. I will make sure that Caroline knows about Grandma and Grandpa and what they've done for me, my siblings, and my cousins. We all loved Grandma and Grandpa so much. I can never thank them enough for the impact they had on my life. What a blessing they were to me. I will always miss them and I look forward to the day when I can see them again.