My Hero Chronicles

Hi all -

Welcome from sick bay. I've been home the last few days, but seem to be doing better now. Funny thing, working like a crazy person runs you down. Who knew?

So, my Schmeff as a New Daddy post got me thinking. When I was a kid, I always hated the question "Who's Your Hero?"... because everyone would always give answers like Superman, the Eagles or Elvis. All of which are great, but my heroes never seemed to match the typical answer. In fact, most of the time I said I had no heroes, but that's just not true.

My heroes are the people that I surround myself with... my friends and my family. I think each of you are a superhero in your own right. So, I've decided that, I'm going to do my best to write a little bit about each of you. Obviously, this will take time - so if you don't see your post right away, doesn't mean I haven't thought about you!

For today, I'm going to start with an obvious one... my grandmother. Why? Well, because I'm multitasking here and have already written something awhile back for my niece. But also because if there is one person who I still try to do right by, even though she's not here, it's her.

So - I hope you enjoy this accounting of my first hero, as I wrote it to my niece.

To my niece,

Mommy and Daddy asked if I would write to tell you something about your great grandmother. She was a very special lady and your daddy and all of us loved her a lot. There were many amazing things about her to choose from, one of them was her never ending strength and endurance.

She was a hard worker who never stopped, working until she was 85 years old. She loved to teach and taught people how to read and speak English. She couldn’t sit still and refused to be “old”, so she decided to get a job at WalMart when she was in her 80s. Grandma also raised your Grandfather all by herself. She took care of all of us when our parents were working or just when we needed taking care of.

Grandma’s opinions were steadfast and strong. You always knew how she felt about everything, for better or for worse. Grandma always stood up for what she believed in or what you believed in. She fought relentlessly if she found it necessary.

Her opinions were very progressive; she was always open and up-to-date on things in the world. She was someone you could talk about everything with, and on many occasions I did just that. She never grew tired of talking to me.

Grandma and Poppy (as we called them) loved to have fun. They were famous for trips to the casinos in Atlantic City. And while she may have taught us how to count by playing cards, she also took the time to teach us how to read, too.

When we were young they would have “happy hour”, which meant, everyone gathered around the kitchen table to eat chips and play cards. It was always a good time.

Grandma was also an amazing cook. She was famous for her stuffed mushrooms, meatballs, rice pudding and soups (especially split pea). Grandma insisted that people were always hungry… if she caught you yawning; it meant you weren’t being fed.

She loved fashion… she had a closet full of fabulous dresses, purses and shoes. I spent a lot of time playing dress up in there. She was an avid reader; her house was piled with books. Both Grandma and Poppy were addicted to certain TV shows including: Wheel of Fortune and soap operas like Santa Barbara during the day and Dallas and Falcon Crest at night.

Grandma was also very afraid of dogs… but despite her fear, she eventually became friends with our dog, Rocky, even gaining the courage to pet him on his head at one point. After many years of trying, Rocky was so happy he had won her over, he spent the entire day on cloud 9.

There is a lot you can say about your great grandmother. But if you learn one thing from this short letter, it should be that everything that was inside her is now a part of you. You’ll find strength when you need it and have the ability for unlimited love in your heart.

Most importantly, when you can’t seem to feel or see any of these things, you have your family around you to show you the way.

I love you,
Gina