where did the summer fly off to?

Yikes, I’ve been absent from posting on the blog! The summer months flew by much to quickly.

As I prepared to get back in touch with my blog, (so much to share) I could not go a step forward, without mentioning one of the most profound events of the summer, and that is the passing of my beloved maternal Grandmother, Frances. While I’ve thought about what I would write, the question I asked over and over was, ”How do I sum up the life, importance, love, and impact she has had in my life and that of our family?” The answer was you can’t, it’s just too huge for a blog post. So I figured I’d mention some of the memories I cherish.

This is a portrait I took of Grandma in the summer of 2007, at the age of 92.

No memory of her is complete without thinking about the wonderful summers we spent with her and Grandpa on their farm in Nevada. We grandchildren stayed in the trailer, which they lived in before they built their house. I often wonder now, what she would have done had she walked in the trailer and caught us lighting our pretend cigarettes made out of rolled up paper bags on the kitchen stove burners! I can laugh about that now, but had she actually caught us at any number of things we were “up” to back then, I wouldn’t have been laughing! One of her favorite sayings to us was, “Keep your nose clean” I’m pretty sure she knew we were always up to something!

There was that afternoon on the farm that she nursed one of their dogs back to health after it had been poisoned. She instructed us to run and get milk and oil from the house and we watched as she sat on the grass with this sick convulsing dog’s head in her lap and poured the milk and oil mixture down it’s throat. Yes, I was in awe. She brought that dying dog back to life. It was stunning. And a great memory. She seemed larger than life!

We marveled at her strength.  She had a grip that didn’t match her petite appearance. And when she hugged me as a child, it was with such force I understood the phrase, “Bear Hug”. God made her strong. Because He knew the work and life that was ahead of her. It was that strength at the very young age of 13, after her mother’s death, that she stepped into the roll of Mother to all her younger siblings to keep from having the family separated. She was the only “mother” most of her siblings ever knew. She didn’t return to school. Her plans were altered. Dedication to family was a theme I feel followed her all her long life.

Wife to Glen for over 50 years and mother to 3 daughter’s, Grandma lived to see 5 generations of her family. My Mother, Sharon was her youngest daughter.

Grandma kept busy. Moving. Working. Busy. She made me tired just watching her. To see her really laugh was wonderful. All through my childhood, when they lived in Nevada, I would stand outside by our mailbox as my birthday was approaching, because she always sent me a present. Without fail. And it was thrilling to get that package from my Grandmother, who I knew then, and know even more now, that she believed in me and loved my dearly. I was given by my Mom, Grandma’s middle name, Deline. It has been said and I have been dubbed, by other’s in our family as, “The Golden Child” Grandma’s favorite. It is said in love, thankfully, but we all know she loved us all deeply. Maybe me just a little bit more! (ha! I like to say things like this…)

Years after Grandpa passed away, on a visit back to AZ. while at Grandma’s house, she approached me with her hand held out, and in the palm of her hand was a cow tooth, small snake skin and an arrow head. I was sitting on a chair and looked up at her puzzled and she said, “You gave me these when you were a child.” I couldn’t believe it, and thinking of it now has me wiping away a stream of tears. She had kept these little tokens from me for so many years, had even packed them and brought them back to AZ. when they retired from the farm. I have no memory of giving them to her, but I cherish the memory of her showing them to me!

My Grandmother loved the Lord. She loved scripture. Her favorite verse, which everyone in our family has seen added to every letter from her: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28.

Lastly I’ll add what I said at her funeral. I asked her once on the phone why she always said, “So long” when we hung up and not good-bye like everyone else? And she said ”So long” to her meant ”See you soon” and she didn’t want to say Good-bye. So I say, as a follower of Christ Jesus, “So long” Grandma, I’ll see you when my days here are finished or our Lord returns to bring me home.

 

Cousins, who where able to attend Grandma’s service in AZ. left to right: Dee Dee (my sister), Kelli, Jefferson, Me, Leslie (who is wearing the Cinderalla watch grandma gave us as children, I’m wearing mine too, but you can’t see it) Glen (named after our Grandfather) and Romney. “this is where my heart flourishes”

Home at long last: Frances Deline Brickey, August, 3, 1915- May, 20th, 2012… Age 96…