a mother's day

i am lucky enough to be in a long line of wonderful mothers, and today instead of complaining about being home with pink eye infested children and a quarantined home,

i want to talk about one of the finest mothers i know.

my grandma gold was born in 1905 in clarion county pennsylvania.

and at the age of 32 she met my grandfather on a ship sailing to panama.

they wed and had 6 children, her last at the young age of 43.

 all of her children adore her and i love to hear my aunts and uncles talk about her. i can see the generations of wonderful people that have come from just one woman. it is amazing to see.

she was a pediatric nurse for 10 years before becoming a mother, and was a firm believer in schedules and routines for your children. my favorite story is how she would give all the kids dramamine in applesauce for car trips (go grandma!)

she was beautiful and smart and a fantastic tennis player (something grandpa could never beat her at)

grandma was a hard worker, from sun up to sun down. she still lived on her own after grandpa passed till she was 96! she finally passed away at the age of 97, 5 months before my wedding.

grandma gold and aunt marsha (i think? )

on the Gruber Dairy Farm. she grew up on a dairy farm and payed her way through nursing school from raising and selling pigs.

she had an wonderful sense of humor and always made us laugh. she spoiled the grandchildren with waffles covered in ice cream, strawberries and whipped cream and sleepovers in her living room. i will always remember how many people were at her funeral and had the highest praise for that lovely lady.

grandma always had a beautiful rose garden and flower beds. i still remember kneeling in front of the roses and her showing me how to prune and dead head them. grandma sewed all of her daughters dresses growing up (can you even imagine sewing for 5 girls?), and their prom and wedding dresses.  her tapioca pudding and fried fish were always perfect and grandpa loved her for it. she was sassy and witty and always cheerful. a lutheran growing up, grandma converted to the LDS faith when she met grandpa. she was faithful until the end and always worked hard at her church callings.

she made all of her grandchildren a quilt and she hand embroidered all of her grandaughters a special green apron . it is one of my prized possessions.

i think my favorite thing about grandma is that she always made me feel like i was her favorite, and after she passed we all found out that she made everyone feel that way (that sneaky fox!).  i remember helping her clean (i think she was 95?) and finding miniature reese's peanut butter cups all over the house. so funny! i sure miss my grandma. all that i ever hope to be and all that i am i owe to my mother and her mother and her mother and her mother and her mother......