Joy and Sorrow

Last week was one of mixed emotion for our family. 

On Wednesday, we celebrated Kailin's Family Day.  I cannot believe that it's been SEVEN years since we first held our beautiful baby.  It truly does, in some ways, seem like yesterday.  She has grown so much since that day, May 15, 2006.  She's come from a scared, sad, uncomfortable baby whose eyes lacked a gleam and who could barely even sit up at 9.5mos old to a confident, fiery, capable almost eight year old whose eyes shine.  She is learning handwriting this year and loving it.  Not surprising given her affinity for arts and crafts.  She has made real friends in this past year and although some of the lessons were somewhat painful to learn, I'm proud of her for being able to recognize the difference between friends and true friends at such a tender age.  She's still leggy and super flexible and delights in wowing (and occasionally grossing us out) with some new and different bendy pose.  She loves to run and has a sincere disdain for sitting still for any more than 37 seconds unless she's REALLY into her activity.  She is, as always, tenderhearted and sensitive.  She loves to be funny and I love to see her smile.  She still, like me, wears her emotions on her sleeve.  It means that what you see is what you get -100% genuine Kailin, but it also means that often her emotions run high and she can run from hot to cold in just a few seconds' time.  I think that as she learns to get a handle on it (something I am still learning, too), it will serve her well.  For all the trials and tribulations of the past seven years, all the lessons learned by her and by me, too, for all the joys and all the sorrows we have been so very blessed to have been chosen to be her parents.  We are so very proud of her and so blessed to have her in our life!

On Thursday, we said goodbye to Steve's grandma.  Grandma Gannaway was a force to be reckoned with - she didn't let her vertical challenges (I've heard she was 4'7" tall, but even that seems too tall to me.) stand in her way of living life large.  A sassy, witty little lady, she was always ready to take her grandsons (or one particular son-in-law) to task.  She was fiercely loving and tenderhearted, but just as happy to cuff you one if you touched her hair.  She loved to be involved and was still attending the birthday parties of her great grandkids at age 88.  She was always very welcoming to me and it was so very easy to love her.  Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought so.  I was kind of surprised to see how many people filled the little church where her funeral was held.  It's not that I was at all surprised to learn just how loved she was.  I just didn't realize how active she stayed even when she couldn't really get out much anymore.  During part of the service, people were invited to say a little something about Grandma.  Steve's Uncle Jerry stood up and said his somber piece and then followed it with some pretty humorous stories (including one involving a water bed) that had us laughing through our tears.  I was so happy to hear that he has a pat impression of her down - I'll have to ask him to pull it out when I'm missing her.  Aaron stood up and told us all some stories about how he'll remember Grandma.  It was a wonderful description of a beautiful relationship between the two of them.  I don't know if I'll ever watch a Packer game again without wondering what crazy (and, according to Aaron, perhaps even numerically impossible) score she would have predicted.  Then some of her friends stood up and told stories about memories they'd made with her and how much they'll miss her.  And one told us that a group from church went caroling at Grandma's house one time.  She wasn't expecting them and her friend, Retta, told the group she'd better go to the door first and announce them.  She banged on the door and yelled "Ida, it's Retta!"  Grandma either didn't hear or didn't believe her 100% because Retta said she answered the door with a baseball bat in hand.  Like I said - she was a force.  She will be missed terribly, but I'm so blessed to have attended her funeral - a celebration of her life as much as it was an event to mourn her death.  I know that she had no question about where she'd go when her life here was done and that is such a comfort in sad times - it's what allows us to celebrate her life.  That's what she would have wanted anyway - as long as we didn't touch her hair.  I hope I'm full of as much zest for life when I'm an old grandma.  She is unforgettable and her legacy will live on for generations to come with stories and laughter.  I hope we can make her proud.