On Tuesday, I got a phone call from my cousin letting me know my grandma had passed. 90 years of life for Grandma Blau, and I was blessed enough to experience 28 of those years. She’s always been grandma to me; however, the roles she played throughout her life fulfill many more shoes than I can sum up here. But to attempt: she was mother to my dad and two aunts and I’m sure an honorary second mom to many of their friends, she was a loving wife, one with the quickest wit in town. She was married to a man with the thickest sarcasm; her wit was sharp as a tack. She was a business owner and hair stylist. She was friend, confidant, knitting partner, gardener, baker, and a card shark. She was a travel buddy for grandpa’s wanderlust. And most recently she played the role of Great Grandma to the four newest in our family tree. She read them stories and told them to stop running through her house. She held them close and treasured the smiles they gave her in return.
The memories we all hold of Betty Blau remind of us of the strong, hardworking, loving, and most organized woman we all know. Some of my favorite memories of Grandma – include the lessons that she taught me. During the summers of my teenage years – grandma gave me my first job of cleaning her house. And she told me all the right ways to do it. She showed me how to dust. I had better move everything on the wood furniture because if I didn’t, she would find the dust I missed and ask me to do it again. She showed me, the only way to clean floors was with a rag and a bucket. I can hear her saying, “You have to be on your hands and knees if your kitchen floor is going to be clean – no need to own a mop.”
Grandma taught me the importance of owning a good pair of shoes. She was the 7th sister in her family. So by the time she got hand-me-down shoes – they offered her little support. When I was in need of a good pair of shoes, she would take me to get a pair while saying, “You don’t want your feet to look like mine, do you?” No Grandma, I don’t. Thank you for always giving me support whether it be emotionally or physically.
Grandma taught me that everything in a house should have a home. And up through last week, she would have been able to tell anyone right where the toothpicks were in the kitchen or the letters from Grandpa back when he was in the war. She knew where everything went. And took good care of everything she had.
Grandma’s legacy is written throughout the family and friends still here. Her life held such value while she was here on this earth – and I believe it was due to the fact that she knew her life here wasn’t the one that meant the most. It’s the life of restoration, the life after death, with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ that is what shaped her character her on earth. It’s the love of a heavenly Father that she saturated her family and friends during the 90 years she was with us.
I am thankful to have known her as Grandma. I’m thankful to have seen a life lived so fully, an example of a faithful servant of our God. Well done, Gram. Until I see you again.
Heard It with My Eyes 