I was very fortunate to have my Grandma for as long as I did. I had the opportunity to flourish in her unconditional love as a child, and then later, I had the opportunity to learn what it meant to return her unconditional love as she got older and I grew up.
When Joey and I were kids, she wanted nothing more than to have us around as much as possible; or, if she ever felt otherwise, she never let on.
A few things I remember:
She made up a game, similar to hopscotch, for us to entertain ourselves in her kitchen and stood by watching, amused and charmed by our antics.
She kept a bag of double-bubble gum in the spare room to treat us with once in a while.
She'd order our Grandpa to give us quarters so we could go down to the little store in Torrington or to the Arcade at Pine Lake.
She tried to teach us to sing O Tannenbaum, but unfortunately, not much stuck.
She accidentally called Joey "Vern" on occasion - a habit that persisted for the rest of her life.
When I grew up, I was able to know and appreciate her as an adult. For a time, I went to her house nearly every day to sit and watch her soap opera with her - a time that we both cherished and that I hated to take away from her when I moved away to Calgary. I learned about her younger life through stories that I sometimes had to pry out of her.
Once she told me how she and her siblings snuck into town one night with the family carriage to go to the youth dance that had been forbidden by her parents.
She told me how her brother-in-law lived with her and her new husband when they were first married, and how frustrated they were at not having any privacy.
Her stories brought my heritage and her personality to life.
Even in the last few years, we never had trouble finding common ground. She had a quick wit and loved to dish it out, as well as take it, in our family "battles" (which, if you've ever attended a Scheurer family get-together, you�ll know is the correct term for them). She loved to watch nature shows and learn about animals - an interest that I share, although I would have kept the television volume a tad lower.
I will miss my grandmother, and am sorry that I can't be here today to say goodbye to her in person, but I will always be grateful for the wonderful gift I was given to have her in my life at all, and especially to have her for as long as I did.
