Missing...

I miss my Grandma even though I am easing back into life. Her smiling face. Her spunk and style. Her great sense of humor. Taking her places to do fun things. Yesterday as I walked around Brookside Gardens for the first time...this after having wanted to do so for about 10 years...I wished that I had thought to take Grandma. She would have loved it...there were great wheelchair accessible pathways. It was so peaceful. It was so beautiful. She loved being outside with trees and flowers. I felt bad for not thinking to do it before. As I walked, feeling inept the wind picked up and kissed my face. It was clear...Grandma was walking with me.

Flipped for Flip Flops...

Have I ever mentioned my flip flop addiction before? I'm sure I have...especially Vera Bradley ones. They are so cute and fun. I had already purchased a few for the season and darn if Vera Bradley didn't come out with some more. Curses!!! Is it okay for me to get a few more pairs...if I promise to not get any more purses? For the summer season? But don't make me promise to not get the matching beach towels too. They are so pretty and I know that I am really, really going to need them for the summer. I really do have a problem don't I?

The Hardest Drawer for Last...

We were in hyper cleaning mode last week...I think my Mom, Sister and I tried to keep busy and we got lots of things done. As many of you know, I am all about the lists...so you will not be surprised to find out that the first thing I did when we got home after Grandma passed away was to break out a brand new Vera Bradley notebook and start making lists. Sick..I know...but it made me feel better...it was comforting.

One of the items on the list was cleaning out the dresser drawers of my Grandparents. Yes...I admit...we did not clean out those of Grandpa back in 2007. I was deliberate in my cleaning, saving his "junk" drawer for last. Although I should say, there was no junk within. I loved looking through bunches of old business cards, his notes on the scraps of paper he would always keep handy in his shirt pocket, his dogtags, and this piece of paper that I had never seen before. Evidently, on November 1, 1977 (barely 11 months old) I typed this at my Grandma's Office. Pretty cool find isn't it?

A Year Ago...

My sweet Grandma loved to go to the grocery store and here are some pictures from about a year ago. How cute is she? Check out the one below...in her red crocs...even cuter right?

I remember back in the summers way back in the day when my sister and I would spend the day with Grandma and Grandpa. I have the best memories of Grandpa playing some of our favorite cassettes in the car as we traveled down to Chevy Chase to shop at the Westbard Giant (like George Michael's Faith...because Grandpa thought it was a great album too!!). I remember being in charge of holding the list and checking off the items when they made it into the basket...even as a child...I was all about the lists!!

One of the first things we did after Grandpa passed away was to head to the grocery store...the four of us...Grandma, Mom, Sister and I...getting all kinds of yummy things for a dinner of appetizers. Harris Teeter was our store of choice...we had coffees first and then set out about the store for comfort foods. Last evening we did the same thing...but this time it was just the three of us...getting a dinner of appetizers. We didn't really address the fact that it was just the three of us or the fact that it in a few hours it would be exactly one week when we became only three. There was something nice about roaming the aisles where Grandma roamed pushing the basket. We really, really miss her.