Life, death and saying goodbye to my much-loved Grandma

The road of life is full of bumps. Some of them are interesting and fun. Others are frustrating or irritating. And still others, though we get over them well enough if we've got the right vehicle, can bring sorrow.

My Grandma, my dad's mom, AKA Grandma the Great, passed away last Friday. She was an amazing lady who lived a life in service to God and people. She raised five boys, out-lived two husbands, and had (I think) SIXTEEN grandchildren and TWENTY-TWO great-grandchildren. Almost all of them made it to Minnesota for the funeral this week.

I could go on and on about my Grandma, but I'll just post a few interesting things about her.

She had a great sense of humor. When we were kids, Grandma always told us she was 26 whenever we'd ask her age. I learned later that it was because she got married on her 26th birthday, so after that she stopped having birthdays and only had anniversaries.

She was generous. Her husband was a minister and she went with him across the country, supporting his ministry. She also worked in soup kitchens. Grandma blessed people with her hands by sewing quilts, crocheting pillows, and spending all year working on hand-sewn toys for her granchildren (I still have my ballerina mouse, Felix the Cat, mouse family, the quilt she made for me when I got married, and two baby quilts too).

She was faithful. Grandma gave her heart to Jesus when she was 7 years old and served him faithfully until her very last moment. She always made it known how much she loved the Lord, and she was always there for her family when they needed her.

She loved holding babies and walking through the woods. She inspired me to learn to sew and can my own jams and tomatoes. She was a fun, happy person that rarely complained, laughed often and gave good hugs. I am thankful that she was a part of my life for so long (she lived to be 93) and that my children knew her too.

She will be missed.

NEW! Tuesday Writing Tips: Tip #1

My dear friend Angie had this idea of doing Tuesday Tips over at her blog, and she thought it would be fun to form a tip team, so I joined. Seeing as how my blog is primarily writing-related, I thought I would post tips that fit the theme. I may now and then post one that has little or nothing to do with writing, but only if it's an absolute must.

So here goes!

Tuesday Tip #1 -- Silence Your Internal Editor (for now)

Doing NaNoWriMo has taught me something important. I don't have to edit as I go! Hurray! And you, as a writer, don't have to either (except maybe when you're blogging, but that's different).

Cut loose, be free, put the pedal to the metal and write an entire first draft (or at least and entire chapter) without stopping to edit yourself. Don't worry about spelling. Don't worry about word choice. Sometimes the most important thing is to get from the beginning to the end. Then when you go back and read your work as a whole draft, you'll be able to edit, revise and slash away objectively.

That, and it's just no fun to try and make everything perfect on the first go.

So, go ahead and ignore the spelling errors, imperfect grammar and "telling" sentences for now. It's okay. Really.

Just for fun

I had been enjoying a quiet house while my kids ran to the grocery store with their dad. But as sweet as that time alone was, it was nothing compared to the treat I got when they came home.

I was standing at the kitchen sink when my little boy popped his head in the door and said, "Mom! Don't look! I've got a surprise."

I obediently turned around and waited. When my son said "Okay," I turned back to see him proudly holding up a bouquet of flowers. It was a sweet surprise.

Even sweeter because it was all my son's idea.

Here is a drawing he did for me of those very same flowers.