Hi, my name is Megan and I am one of my grandma’s 13 grandchildren. Our grandma was an extremely special woman. She had a gift of being able to show her love for us completely and with ease. She loved us for who we were, and we all were very unique. When I tried to think of ways I could verbally express what made her so amazing and why we love her so very much I could think of a million different little things and no way to coherently express them. So instead I thought I would share a couple of stories about her that demonstrate her abundant amount of love, wit, and caring. Growing up grandma was always so specific in showing her love. For special occasions, such as birthdays and holidays, she would always send a card. She never forgot and I don’t ever remember receiving one late, even though I never lived close. But this wasn’t the main thing that showed her love. With each card I received it was completely apparent that she had picked it out specifically for me, and the same goes for my siblings and other cousins. You could tell that she had spent a good amount of time reading cards to decide which one was the perfect fit because she always underlined words she deemed important. Ones I remember seeing repeatedly underlined were “loved” and “special." Which fits because she always made sure that we knew absolutely how special we were to her and how much she loved us. I always looked forward to getting a card from my Grandma Jo and Papa because I knew that it would be something especially for me and I could literally visualize her standing in the store looking over cards and then taking one home and carefully underlining specific words. It’s very hard to imagine that she won’t be able to pick out a card and underline special words just for me anymore. It’s just one of the many things I will miss greatly. For the first 12 years of each of our lives my grandma hand cross-stitched Christmas ornaments for each one of us. These ornaments were always a special treasure. Growing up I looked forward to wondering what one she would be making for me and I loved getting to open up my gift and see the surprise. Now that I’m grown they have even more meaning for me. Each tiny stitch is a remembrance of my grandma’s loving hands, each design a reminder of how she was thinking of us daily. Every year when I get out all of my Christmas ornaments, these are the first ones to go on my tree. Because they are the most special and it’s important to me to have them perfectly spaced out so that each one is always visible and stands out. They stand out just like my grandma did. During family gatherings she was always the focal point. Not because she needed to be the center of attention, but because she always watched us with such fondness and wanted to be engaged with us in some capacity. Sometimes I would just watch her watching my cousins and aunts and uncles and the look of complete love and adoration would always warm me. She radiated love and affection, you couldn’t help but want to be near her. The love she had for my grandpa and she for her was incredible to watch. I’ve tried to tell them many times over how beautifully they loved each other and how grateful I am to have been able to see that love, but it’s just not something you can put into words. I love her so, so much. Grandma loved us unconditionally. It’s one of her many wonderful attributes. Even when we made mistakes in life, her love never wavered. She always looked for the best in people. She never doubted for a second that her grandchildren were perfect in each of their own ways and she expressed that openly. She always made me feel so special and loved. Once when I was playing poker for fun with her and my Papa and siblings, I won a hand. When I showed what I had my Papa shook his head and said, “Oh, Megan. You really shouldn’t ever bet with that hand. Do you know what the percentage would be to win with that?” I of course didn’t and don’t remember what it was to this day. But what I do remember was my grandma saying, “Clinton. You don’t know her strategy. I’m sure she was probably cleverly playing that hand.” And then she leaned aside and quietly whispered in my ear, “But really, honey, that is an absolutely terrible hand.” And then she winked and smiled. I remember loving that she stood up for me and assumed I was terribly clever, but then gave me advice as well. Her ability to always assume good intent is a characteristic that not many people have, but she had it. One of my favorite long term memories of my grandma is her ability to play video games. She was so extremely coordinated and smart. I remember I would brag (and still do brag) to my friends that my grandma is so cool she kicks massive butt at video games. I loved getting to watch her play Zelda and Mario so intently. When I would stay at her house we would wake up early in the morning to get to the video games before her because when grandma said, “Ok I’m here to play,” that meant stop your game no matter where you were, and give the controls over. But we didn’t mind because getting to watch her play was watching a master. Since last June I’ve been lucky enough to have weekly phone calls with my grandma. Sometimes we would talk of nothing in-particular other than that we loved each other, sometimes it was my work, the books she was reading, her kitties, or something completely obscure. I hold those phone conversations deep in my heart. It was a highlight of my week to hear her voice and feel her love for me radiating through the phone lines. One time we weren’t even really talking, and I heard my Papa in the background say “Ok you guys obviously don’t have anything to say to each other, so just say goodbye”. And my grandma said, “Sometimes we don’t have to have anything to say to each other, we just enjoy being connected." And I laughed because it was a “so there” tone in her voice, even though she didn’t say it. But I agreed with her statement. It didn’t matter if you had nothing to say. Sometimes silence and just being able to BE with the person you love is plenty. And with grandma, it was. I love her so much, as do all her grand kids. She was an amazing, wonderful, witty, and above all LOVING grandma. We will miss her hugs, her warmth, her love, we will miss HER more than words could possibly express. Revelation 21:4 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever."