A power of a grandma, even 16yrs later....

It's 16yrs on Oct 7th, that my nonna,

my life inspiration, my light, my heart, my shining star, the one person who is at the core of my being, at the surface of my heart and the forefront of my imagination...

It's amazing how special people can truly shape our lives, who we become and how we view things forever...

The powerful impact of my grandmother on my life has made me make a pact with myself that my children will bond with their grandparents no matter what, that the bond between grandparent and grandchildren is one of the most incredible bonds ever. My mother in law can have my boys at the mere mentino of missing them, and she knows it... I let her enjoy them to her heart's content (and she so appreciates this, because she usually hears "daughter in law" sagas from friends )
my boys send her cards, call her at random and spend days with her just eating cookies, running around the playground and being with grandma.

My parents get to enjoy all 8 of their children very often. I see the light in their eyes that nonna had for us. their 4 jewels, they called us... little did they know, THEY were the true gems...

Thanks for letting me share.

Even 16yrs later, it's fresh as ever in my mind. The denial (for months ) the shock, the anger, the heavy, heavy heart... and then the fond memories seeping into all areas of my life as Ive gone through marriage and chiildren..

At 18, losing nonna was the hardest thing I had to go through...

I miss you so much nonna,
Ti amo, nonna bella..

thanks for letting me share.

and to the mommies, please make sure to let the grandparents in your children's lives cherish and enjoy them, regardless of other factors that might not allow this to occur otherwise...

Re: A power of a grandma, even 16yrs later....

I'm right there with you...

My Grandmother and I had a true love/hate relationship. As crazy as she often made me (she was extremely stubborn, obstinate and often difficult), she made me laugh daily. She always let us know how much she loved us all, prayed constantly for us, wrote (well, me) very personal and extensive letters, etc. My daughter loved her to pieces and I feel extremely grateful that Amber had the opportunity to really get to know her great-grandmother (not just randomly visit her or have a arms-length type of relationship like my nieces, etc.). As difficult as this has been for me, I can't imagine how incredibly hard this must be on my Mother, who spoke to her at least 3x a day EVERY DAY for the last 72 years. The strangest thing I observed through all of this is that my Mom never called Grandma "Mom". Even in her cards/letters, she always addressed Grandma as "Mother". I never-ever heard them say "I love you" to each other and even now when I tell my Mom "I love you", she seems to not know what to do or say, like I caught her off-guard. Yet, my Grandmother would always close EVERY conversation with her with "I love you dear". Grandma was very demonstrative, while my Mom is not. It's just so weird...

Re: A power of a grandma, even 16yrs later....

This made me cry.

Your words are just beautiful!!

I can feel in my heart the love you felt for your grandmother. I have the same love in my heart for my Gram. It is truly something that you never get over. Your grandmother was lucky to have you for a granddaughter. You are amazing!!

Re: A power of a grandma, even 16yrs later....

So beautiful and crying also

Three months ago yesterday I lost my hero, my Grandma. I looked up to her and admired her so much. I am extremely close with my mom and my grandma was like my second mother.

I miss her more and more each day

Re: A power of a grandma, even 16yrs later....