Stories From My Grandmother's Chair

Once upon a time......there was a little girl and she loved nothing more than visiting her Grandmother's house.

Her dear Grandmother lived in an old white house very close to the ocean. She lived so close, that you could hear the sound of the waves crashing on the shore when you were laying in your bed at night.  Sea spray would hover over the neighbouring streets and a coating of salt an inch thick could be found on your bedroom window every morning when you woke.

Grandma's home was filled to the brim with love. There was always  a big hug and a warm smile to greet you and a fridge full of your favourite food that she would buy to treat you.

Making jelly was a must when visiting Grandma's house. She would have every flavour imaginable to choose from and it was such a wonderful thing to get to stir all by yourself...even when the jelly was "awfully hot so be very careful !"

Making pies was a Grandma tradition. She would roll the dough with ease on the huge pine table that we all sat around to eat  at night. If there were scraps of dough left she would let me make little teensy jam tarts and bake them in her tiny tart dishes. The jam tarts would almost never be left to cool as they smelt so good they would never last that long....yummy !

The thing that I treasure the most about my beloved Grandmother were her stories. I would happily sit and listen to them for hours as she chatted away about her life growing up with her 11 brothers and sisters. Stories of war and loved ones lost and babies delivered by doctors in homes instead of hospitals. I would sit there and take it all in with big wide eyes.  Her crystal blue eyes would glimmer and dance around at the memories she was reliving as she spoke.

Games of cards and join the dots were played. She had endless ammounts of time to sit there and play and seemed oh-so-happy to do so.   Wisdom poured out of her heart and her cheery disposition was so warm and beautiful to be around.

Now days Grandma has been laid to rest and her warm heart lives on in my heart. The stories that she told are as fresh in my mind as the day she first shared them with me. I can still see my little fingers clasped around the big silver spoon stirring the jelly that I would love to make. My Grandmother's chair now sits in a corner of my parents house in a sunny spot which almost calls you to take a seat, drink tea and reminisce about times gone past.  I sat in this very chair today and nestled back and remembered her smell, the blue eyes, the perfume, the mothballs and her stories..........

Until we meet again she walks beside me in spirit and holds my hand. Her angel wings are the softest and sweetest in heaven and her blue eyes are tiny stars which light up the world at night. Her laughter is the sound of the birds chirping as they did outside her kitchen window every day.

Our loved ones move on to a beautiful world of lightness and calm. They are the first ones there to meet us when we walk along the very last road of our life.  They are never gone from our hearts for very long at all, for the chains of love that bind us together are woven so very tightly that time itself isn't strong enough to break them. 

In the meantime I shall pass these memories on to my children and my children's children. I will remind them of jelly and jam tarts and stories by the sea. Her legacy of life and love will never be lost as long as her memory is kept alive

To my beautiful Grandma in heaven, with the biggest set of wings

                                             xo