Today I want to dedicate my Mother's Day blog post to my Grandma Ruthie. She is an amazing woman with a wonderful spirit. Yesterday, she went into the hospital and unfortunately I can't join the rest of the family as they head to her bedside.
Growing up my brother and I were lucky enough to spend a lot of time with our grandparents - we'd spend our summers in Wisconsin visiting them and they in turn would come and stay with us for months at a time. My dad's parents were total Norman Rockwell grandparents: they were wrinkly little people; grandma cooked amazing wholesome meals and made pies from the berries we picked; and grandpa would putz around all day and helped us build a tree fort. On the other hand, Grandma Ruthie is nothing like a typical grandma. She wears red lipstick and high octane outfits, would take us to McDonald's for breakfast, have her toddy every evening, go to the casino, and would get asked to dance by men when we were at the bar (it was a bar-restaurant, so kids could totally be there).
The first time she came to stay with us, I remember being terrified of her. I was a shy kid and Grandma Ruthie came in like a whirlwind of lipstick, perfume, and vitamins. Over the years I learned a lot from Grandma's annual visits: she made the best fried chicken and lemon meringue pie, the woman bargain hunts like it's no one's business, she doesn't care what people think, doesn't believe in whining, and always looks on the bright side. At the time I may not have appreciated all I could learn from Grandma, but as I got older all her little sayings have become a part of my internal dialogue and I realize what an astounding woman she is.
Grandma survived a lot of hardships in her life, but she doesn't dwell on them or use them as an excuse. She is a resilient woman who picked herself (and her family) up when life didn't go as planned and she kept a smile on her face as she did it. She doesn't swear and doesn't believe in saying negative things about other people. I grew up hearing her mantra from both her and my mom: "Put a smile on your face and a happy thought in your heart." This has gotten me through more than a few of life's challenges and I hope that you can be inspired by it as well*.
*And if you need further proof of how amazeballs Grandma Ruthie is: When she first went into the home for Alzheimer's she broke out and took the other patients with her, because she didn't want to leave them behind. After she got moved into the locked-down unit (post-breakout) she started a rebellion and then rejoined it after she forgot she started it. Finally, she thought the lost and found in the home was a garage sale and picked up presents for her family. I am proud that my family often refers to me as a "mini-Ruthie" me. She is truly one of a kind and I love her dearly.
