handsful

My Grandmom, Dorothy West Hamilton, went home to be with the Lord yesterday morning.  She’d been suffering from mouth cancer for quite a while, went through one surgery and other cancer treatments.  It seemed the tumor was shrinking, but then came back with a vengeance.  Within just a few short days, she went from talking over old memories with my parents, to bedridden and unable to eat.  When given the choice, she refused IV fluids…telling my dad that she was ready to go Home.  Two days later, she was there.

I’m so thankful that we had the chance to visit her, one last time, on Monday.  She was sleeping heavily, morphine doses every 2 hours, and was basically unresponsive.  But, I choose to believe that she knew we were there, and heard me telling her how much I loved her, and what an amazing Grandma she’d been to me.  I will always treasure that, like I’ll treasure the wonderful memories I have with her.

Like…

She called all of her Grandkids “tootsie”.  I loved that.

From the time I was 4, we lived down the street from Grandma.  In fact, we lived in 3 different houses on the SAME street during my childhood.  But, that’s another story.  So, I spent a lot of time up at her house.  What a blessing.

I loved her house.  It was small, with 2 bedrooms and 1 bath.  Down the very small hall was a huge grate that brought in heat (coal?  I’m not sure…), and when you looked down, it was glowing bright red.  As a child, that was very mysterious to me.

I remember spending nights with her as a child.  She’d always let me sleep with her, in her bed.  And the best part was her letting me wear her silky nightgowns…which she always safety-pinned to fit.

Her house backed up to the local little league field, with a fence between.  Her yard was elevated from it, and there was a tree right at the fence.  Us kids (me and my cousins) would climb the tree and watch whatever game was going on.  We felt like we had the best seats in the house.

Grandma was the best cook.  Ever.  My favorites being her green beans (I can’t cook them like she did…), chicken pastry (think dumplings, only they’re large, flat noodles), and her homemade chocolate pie.  I’ve almost got the last one down.  I remember the first time I tried it, the filling didn’t get thick enough.  She told me to cook and stir it longer.  She was right.

I have a sweet tooth, and I’m sure I got it from Grandma.  She LOVED her sweets, any and every kind.  Especially pie.  Meals to her were a vehicle to get to the dessert.  I totally get that.

As you can see in the pic, she had beautiful, soft white hair.  I want HER hair when mine goes gray.  For years she fought it, though, and died it jet black!  As a kid, I remember watching her at her kitchen sink, squirting what looked like black ink all over her head.  The stuff stained whatever it touched, it was quite a sight!  We finally talked her into going “natural” and she never looked better.

Grandma had a dog years ago, named Tippy.  He was a black and white mutt, and cute as could be.  I didn’t have a dog, so it was fun to play with him.  I remember how sad we were when he died.

Grandma’s house was always the meeting point for parades downtown.  She lived within walking distance, so everyone parked their cars there and walked down to main street.

In fact, her house was always bustling with family and friends.  She was very social, and loved being busy.  She also loved talking on the phone.  My parents would get irritated at her…her phone was ALWAYS busy, it was impossible to get a hold of her.  Sometimes we’d have to walk up the street and knock on her door :)

I loved hearing stories of Grandma’s life.  She married my dad’s dad at the age of 15.  She had 5 children, and they lived on a farm.  She married my granddad, and he died when my dad was 18.  She re-married after 7 years, only to have him pass away 5 months later.  From then on, she lived alone.

Grandma did have a “boyfriend” for many years.  I remember Jimmy as the tall, skinny man who always greeted me with whatever change he had in his pocket.  He was a very sweet man, and was a blessing to Grandma.

In later years, after Randy and I were married, we started a tradition of having a casual get-together at our house on Christmas eve.  It was always my parents, Randy’s mom and step-dad, and Grandma.  Once the kids were born, it was a kid-fest…holding babies and watching them be silly as they anticipated the next morning.  Lots of laughter, lots of food, and many memories.

As our kids got older, and we visited her, she would NOT let them leave without something sweet (remember the sweet tooth?).  Candy for each one, packs of cookies, etc.  There was always a “going away” present.

I hope Grandma knew just how much I loved her.  How much we all did.  She was the sweetest (I keep using that word, sweet…) woman and everyone adored her.  Remembering her will be easy, and I’ll continue to share these memories and more with my kids so that they can always remember, too.