cold water and raw onions.

we used to beg my grandma to turn up the heat on the swimming pool at their house. we would beg and beg and beg, and she would say, "well, i did turn it up! it's at 70 degrees already!". that was what she considered to be warm water. the woman could swim in subzero temperatures and not bat an eyelash. so on our annual family vacation, when a few brave people started to swim in the ocean at sunset, she decided to make it a mandatory tradition that the entire family (all 35 of us) be in the water by the time the sun dipped below the horizon. rain or shine, waves or still waters, hot or cold, we all were expected to be down on the beach to participate in sunset swim.she also had taste buds of steel. the woman could pile her hamburger high with raw onions and just nom it down, no problem. she never met a meal she didn't like, and yet somehow was the tiniest human being. even when esophageal cancer made it hard for her to eat solids, grandma would put her foot down and demand a taste of whatever was being served for dinner, side effects be damned. i will always be thankful to her for passing down her appreciation of food to her entire family. that gift made for a lot of awesome family dinners.

the saying on her sweatshirt in the above photo says, "there is reason to believe that some people can marry an irish person and still go on to lead a normal and productive life." too true, too true. i learned lots of awesome sayings like that from her. i also learned that flirting with your husband after over 60 years of marriage is a requirement, and you best believe that frequently smooching on your spouse is as well. that's one legacy that i will be sure to carry on.

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today, she would have loved to sit in her spot in the kitchen, looking out on the lake and enjoying the snow falling. even though it's late april, it wouldn't have occurred to her to be upset about the weather. she would have enjoyed her coffee and her brilliant smile would have lit up the room, just like always. we're going to miss that smile.

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from my post on prayer, which i wrote two months ago around the time i lost one of my grandfathers:"when we get to the part that says, “thy will be done”, let’s stop there and repeat, repeat, repeat. then pray that soon, “i want” and “do what is best” will be one and the same."for my grandma.