What a week September 21 through September 27, 2008 has been.  It all started with a great visit with to my seven week old grandson.   Of course, we played some football, went for a drive, and talked about girls.  He is such a prodigy as evidenced by his ability to play Carniege Hall quality piano.  

After so many laughs and plans, we started the 90 minute drive home.  After about 15 minutes, the phone rang with a call from my sister.  I knew the reason for call the call almost immediately.  It was the call we had all quietly hoped for as the end had finally come for my Grandmother's earthly life.   We had hoped God would call her home because for the past 5 years she had been bed fast eventually curling into a life of vegitative fetal ball.  Her only two purposes in life were to help give a paycheck to the young ladies and gentlemen at her nursing home, and to give her roommate a family as ours became the surogate for hers.  

After a two day celebration of her most generous and giving life, there was the traditional funeral and graveside send-off.  The funeral director said that they had seldom if ever seen the huge numbers of visitors for a person of her age.  The regional newspaper even listed her obituary by the nickname I had given her some nearly 56 years ago.

I am such a wonderfully lucky man.  God blessed me with two of the greatest grandmothers the world could ever know.  While everyones' grandmothers are special to us, Grandmother Cox (1902-1976) had given her life to children of all walks for nearly 50 years as a school teacher.  Her students still tell me stories of how much they loved her and how her love for them made a difference in their lives.

Momma Howard (1912-2008) was the neighborhood first responder long before the term became part of our language.  She was there with everything from bandages to food to flowers, and most importantly, she was there with love.  Her food was even good enough to have three cookbooks emphasising her recipes.  We learned to share her, we learned to share our time, we learned to share love because of Momma Howard. 

I wish more could have known her.   I am so lucky and so proud she is my Grandmother.  I say "is", because we all know she lives on nurturing new heavenly arrivals.