Mimi

In all my life, I've never known anyone quite like my Mimi. As a preteen, she'd embarass the mess out of me asking, "Are you wearin' a bra yet?" in front of my whole family. She'd rub and PINCH my arm if I sat by her on the couch as a kid. Instead of saying, "You look pretty Ashley" when I lived with her, she'd say, "Well don't you think you look pretty." But in all of that, I knew she loved me. She cared about me and what was going on in my life. Why else would I find her reading my mail and moving things around in my room when I lived with her? She is 97, almost 98. Her days left are few, so I want to grab a hold of every good memory I have of her. Like how the night of my first date with Seth she asked him to look at her sink to fix something. And how she said he was better looking than she thought he'd be.

I loved the summer days eating watermelon on her back patio. She would be sure to have the tall white tupperware salt shaker to load hers with salt. I remember waking up on Saturday mornings at her house and as I was falling through the crack of the bed (2 twins pushed together so that Mimi, Melanie and I could all sleep together) I would smell sausage patties on the stove, eggs scrambling, and of course, her coffee. The woman loves her coffee!

There are traits about her that I really admire. Even in her 90's she likes to keep up with her friends and relatives and know how they are doing. She also LOVES to sweep. I wish I could keep my house swept like she did hers! You would rarely find a single leaf in her carport. She has always been really good with her money...living well within her means.

Mimi has seen me graduate college, get a masters, marry, adopt, and buy a nice house. The only thing she hasn't seen me do, that I wish she could, is to have my own baby. But I feel really blessed to have had so many years with her in my life. Grandmothers are so special, and I am glad my kids have two wonderful ones in their lives like I have had in mine.