My Grandmother, A Tribute

I had the extreme honor of writing and giving my Grandmothers eulogy.

We laid her to rest on Friday February 28th.

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When I think of my Grandmother so many words immediately come to mind.

Regal, dignified, majestic, beautiful, divine, matriarch. She IS the true north of our family.

Loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, good, faithful, gentle and patient. She adored the word of God and lived out the fruits of the spirit every single day.

I’ve been praying all week about what to say about my Grandma that would honor who she was perfectly. I could tell you that she made the best chocolate milk, that her garden was better than any other and that she loved to fill her garden with animals, especially little dogs. That she never rushed you off when you wanted to snuggle. She’d sit there and snuggle you until You were through. That she was always so insightful, she even told me the exact dates my boys would be born and that when I think about her reasoning for those dates it still makes me laugh. That when she spoke about any of her grandchildren, great grandchildren, or great great grandchildren she had the sweetest sparkle in her eyes. That she told us girls never to leave the house with out lipstick or blush because you never knew who you'd meet up with and we should always look our best. Or that the boys could do no wrong. That she made the best Nopales Chili Colorado and the there was never any left over’s. So I’d invite her to my house to make it just for us and guess what still no leftovers. Or that not a minute went by that she didn't have her rosary on. That she love her mama and that my Grandpa Santos was the love of her life. She talked about the two of them so fondly. That she loved watching the fireworks on the fourth of July at Tia Linda’s. She was so proud to be an American.  That my Mom could make her laugh like no one else could. Or that every time Tia Vickie would offer her champagne she’d always say yes but just half a glass, then the next time someone would walk by she’d say can I have just half a glass more, she’d do that at least three times thinking we didn’t know, but we did. That she loved Mariachis, their music would often move her to tears. Or that she was a night owl and we’d find her watching TBN or Lifetime at 2:30 am because that’s when all the “good” movies came on. That she was a joker who loved to shimmy her shoulders and drink pepsi. While all of this is true, I decided to go with a journal entry that I wrote about one of our visits with her.

My husband, youngest son and I went to visit Grandma. When we got there she and all of the other “at risk of falling residents” were sitting by the nurses station. I spotted Grandma grabbed her wheel chair and as i was doing so, she noticed that it was me pushing her away and said. "i was praying to God that he would bring me my family and he sent me you. “See mija, God listens. God spoke to you and you listened." About that time my son reached us and bent down and gave Grandma a kiss on the cheek. she straightened herself up tall and announced to everyone "this is my great grandson" I melted.

Often time when I visited, I would take her outside for fresh air, weather permitting and on this night that’s exactly what we did. It was just before dusk and all the little birdies were singing their good night songs. The air was cool, and it was beautiful out. We listened to her tell her stories, and as always gave us a much needed laugh.

Just before the sunset my mom drove up. When grandma spotted her she turned to me and said "did you tell your mom that you were coming to visit me?" i hadn't. She shook her head in disbelief and said again, "See, God listened. I prayed all day for my family and he brought you all to me." and she pointed at us all and said, "i prayed for you and you and you and all around." pointing in a circular motion. Once the sun fell beyond the horizon we took her back to her room and got her ready for bed we asked her if she wanted the t.v. on and grandma said, "no i want to pray." It was so sweet and childlike it hit me hard as I realized how long it had been since I myself just sat and prayed. She blessed us as always and we left.

Of all the words that come to mind when I think about her, this is the one that stands out the most. Prayerful. She remembered each one of you in her prayers daily. Recently she told us, “I have nothing but time to pray for my loved ones.” And if you met her just once she counted you as a loved one. “So that’s what I do.” She continued.

Grandma was constantly in prayer. Her love for the Lord was like a child’s, fully and completely true with out reservations or conditions. It just was. And I think that that’s the legacy that she

would want to leave behind.

Pray. Because even if you don’t think the Lord is listening he always is.

Love the Lord innocently and unconditionally with your whole heart.

At every hello and good bye, wish blessings on one another and always say I love you. Always forgive one another and never leave angry.

Remember that life no matter the season, is always beautiful.

Hug your loved ones a little longer and a little tighter, the tasks of this busy world can wait.

And as she would say, "Thank You Jesus for anther day, because he was good." Do this every day.

Each day is a gift. 

And Grandma as you’ve been telling all of us, we love you big, I tell you, big big big.

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I miss her every second.