rest easy, grammy
They say that the human heart on average weighs 11 ounces.
But it sure as hell feels a lot heavier when it’s broken.
When Grammy was given the chance to write about herself, these were the words that she used.
“I am part of the Pellersels’ family, that says it all” followed by a space and three exclamation points.
She describes herself as a mother of 5, a grandmother of four beautiful granddaughters, two handsome grandsons, and great-grandsons who are also the cutest and beautiful great granddaughters.
She goes on to list sewing quilts as one of her favorite pastimes, listening to country music, or 50’s rock Elvis music.
She lists her favorite quotes as “I don’t get it” and “Oh fer cute!”
& while she is absolutely right about all of those aforementioned things, in my opinion, she’s always been much too humble.
Gram was strong in every sense of the word. She endured more pain and heartbreak than most of us in this room could bear, and she did it all with love. Even through devastating losses that tore us all apart to endure alongside her, she crossed every crumbling bridge with grace and heart. Every… Time.
To know Grammy was to love Grammy. Whether it was her squeaky giggle or the way she would curl the sound of her words up when she was excited, passionate, or sometimes confused about things. Her wit was unmatched and her soul bright, inviting, and loving. I don’t think she quite realized just how much she warmed the lives of those who surrounded her.
Grammy was social, from going to concerts with friends, quilting workshops, movies, & road trips to see those she loved. Nothing was going to stop her from doing what she wanted to do, or didn’t want to do. I will forever remember watching her one day and thinking, this woman has more friends than I would even know what to do with. She remembered every birthday and had fun laughing and reminiscing with all of you here. She was the epitome of kind with a secret side of sass we all came to love, and supportive in everything we all did.
I will forever miss looking into those beautiful blue eyes, seeing her jewelry on the kitchen table, watching her bear hug her great grandchildren, the way she cheated at every game we ever played and would try to convince US that we were actually the ones cheating, the way she would gasp and say, ‘you’re kidding!” when you told her something unbelievable, how she would put a space and three exclamation points when she text something she wanted us to acknowledge, and the way we knew to stay on the phone for a beat after she said goodbye, because ”Love you” was always the last thing she wanted us to hear before hanging up.
It comes as no surprise to me that a life led with cherishment and love that her heart was the first thing to guide her out of this realm and into the next.
While we struggle through our sorrows over the coming days, weeks, months and years; may we always remember the legacy of life and love she created and left behind. How her greatest power was making us feel seen, and important. She was a true gift to us all. Our lives were enriched because she was a part of them.
Until next time, Grammy…
Love you.