My granddaughter who will be a
Junior in high school needed to write a report about a person in her life. She
wanted to write about me. Is there anything that could make a grandma prouder than to be the one adult she picked!?
She interviewed me several times over the following weeks. All sorts of
questions about my life. Questions about what I took away from the 60's. Not
long after, Sydney sent the report to me. The first line she wrote was "My
Grammy is a very inspirational woman....." The words meant the world to
me. She warmed my heart and made me proud. Then I realized the responsibility
comes with those few words. 'Very inspiration woman'.
The Oxford Dictionary:
inspiration
[ ˌinspəˈrāSHən ]
NOUN
- the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative:
Those are powerful words. I was
humbled then and am still. Yes, there is a responsibility with being up on that
pedestal. I need to be worthy of those words always. I am blessed to live near
my grandchildren and to have the opportunities to spend time with them. Our
relationships began when they were newborns. A touch, the love that we exude,
tenderness, all the early things we do to bond. Then we move on to teaching,
sharing, hugging, verbally letting them know their value. Now we are friends
and embrace the times we are together.
Yesterday Sydney's sister Gabby
called me, "Grammy, I am writing a report on Helen Keller. Did you know
her? (I chuckle) I needed to ask an adult about her. I picked you." She
picked me! An opportunity opens and new moments are cherished. I did inform her
that Helen Keller was around when I was a girl, but I did not know her. Gabby
wrote, and I talked about a woman of great influence and one who truly was
inspiring. I felt like a little kid in school with her hand up hoping the
teacher would pick her to erase the blackboard. My granddaughter picked me.
Being an inspiration to your family
is indeed the supreme honor. We never know how much our families will remember
of us when we are gone, but perhaps, just perhaps, the legacy we leave in the
hearts of those we love will carry on throughout generations. Perhaps someday a
child will pick up a tattered report and learn a bit of the past, a bit of an
old grammy who was honored to know her grandchildren and to be part of their
lives....and to know I was picked.
