Grandma Flo

My Grandma Florence past away at the end of March. While I did not get to see her very often, she was an important part of my life and identity. I will miss her loving presence, her wide-open mouth smile and her many catch phrases. (You said it!) 

We would visit my grandparents in Iowa every summer. And while spending a week in rural Iowa is not what the stuff of great vacations are made of, I have a lot of fond memories of being there (and having lots of community pool time!) I would often help Grandma cook or bake, (more so towards my late teens when I really started getting into culinary adventures). Since cooking and baking is a big part of my identity and passions now, I often think that Florence helped cultivate that in small, but important ways. One small way example was her bread roll recipe, which I eventually got her to write down instructions for me. It's a simple white roll recipe and was one of the first recipes I made repeatedly when I started braving the world of bread making. Making that recipe over and over again taught me a lot about the art of yeasted doughs.

Another core memory is that my Grandma was the best at making stove-top popcorn - a treat we only had at my grandparents house. She would make so much it would fill an old metal roasting pan. We would eat it in the evening while we watched TV and drank juice or pop from small glasses filled with small ice cubes. Such a treat!

Back when I was working in fundraising for MCC, I was traveling through Iowa and stayed with my grandma for a day or two. This was at the point near the end of my "fundraising career" where I would get sick on work trips because they made me so anxious. While I wasn't sick at her house, I do remember it feeling so restful. I spent hours just lying on her couch while we watched random March Madness games. I am glad we had that one-on-one time together (and that we got to watch basketball together!)

More recently, I started sending fabric to Grandma from MCC (back when I lived in Kansas). It got to the point where I sent her fabric at least once a month. And she would go through it so quickly! At first I didn't really believe that she was out, but she made so many kit bags and comforters for MCC and yes, she ran out of fabric! In these boxes, I would include a letter and she would often write back. The letters were short and sweet and often about the weather or garden things or basketball. But I am glad that we were in fairly consistent communication during the end of her life. And whenever I did make it up to Iowa, I would spend time tying comforters with her, showing her this cool fast knot that my colleagues at MCC taught me about. Grandma and I didn't always have a lot to talk about, but we would contentedly sit together and tie knots together. I will treasure that time with her for all time.

 

Leah and I visiting Grandma and Grandpa for Thanksgiving (when both Leah and I lived in Kansas)

A visit to the Biltmore when Grandma and Grandpa came to visit Mom and Dad who had recently moved to Asheville. (The summer I also lived there).

One family reunion, Grandma braved the zipline. So brave!

The Christmas Grandma lived with my parents in Asheville.

I will miss you Grandma Flo! Rest well.