Thanksgiving Thursday

For those of you that don't know what Thanksgiving Thursday is, it is the one time during the week where you stop and basically count your blessings. Even if you've had one of those weeks, I promise you can find at least one thing to be thankful for, no matter how big or small.

This week I want to reflect on my Grandma. She passed away two years ago and was such a huge part of my life.

I am thankful for...

• Mornings at my grandparents house that were filled with pancakes in any shape I wanted and lots of bacon.

• Her blatant attempts to make me a domestic goddess. Playing often included pretending to do laundry (she would make a clothes line for me by tying string to chairs), pretending to iron and pretending to cook in my play kitchen. 

• Days when we would bake. I have the best memories making kolacky with her. I would use a baby spoon and put the filling on the dough and she would pinch them shut. She also gave me the scraps to roll out. I remember how easy she made it look and how not easy it actually is. One Christmas I threw the dough at the wall. I often wonder if she did the same thing when she was first making them.

• The mornings she would give me coffee in a little juice glass with ice cubes so it wouldn't be too hot.

• Playing cards with me. We always played go fish, old maid and solitaire.

• The letters we would write each other when I was away at school.

• Her attempts at teaching me to sew, crochet and cross stitch. None of them stuck. 

• Her always filled candy dishes.

• A gift that she gave me that I will cherish more than she could ever know. She gave me the cross my grandfather gave to her for their wedding. I wore it on my wedding day and hopefully one day Jillian will wear it on hers. 

• The times she would give up her cream of broccoli soup at Venice Restaurant and eat my chicken noodle soup instead.

• Giving me the love of the extra crispy pieces from Long John Silvers. 

• Marrying my Grandpa Ruhling and giving all of us the chance to have a grandfather in our lives (both of my parents dads died before the majority of us were born). 

I miss her every day and try to remember the good times as much as possible. In her later years Alzheimer's set in and made the once fun-loving Grandma I always knew a completely different person. I hope she is living it up with my grandfathers and smiling down on us.