My Grandmother passed away last Friday and since then I have thought about if and what I would write about here regarding it. She was 92 years old and two weeks! In February, she fell at home and fractured her pelvis. She was in the hospital and several rehabs since then, and was never able to return to her home in Florida. After a series of complications, her heart finally gave out last Friday and she passed away. As sad as it is, I am thankful that she isn't in pain any more. As with all families, death stirs up many issues. I am trying to put all the drama aside and focus on all of my good memories of my grandmom.
My grandmom moved from Philadelphia to the Bradenton/Sarasota area of Florida the summer after I graduated from college, in 1991. Since then, I tried to visit her there as often as I could afford to go. She was fearful of flying and I can only remember her coming back to PA once, when her sister was ill, and my aunt drove her here. In later years, her bones were too brittle for traveling, so she never got back up here.
On my visits to Florida, I learned so much about her life. She enjoyed reminiscing and I love history, so I was a good audience. She told me stories about growing up and her old neighborhood in Philadelphia, which was the Fishtown and Kensington area. She was born in 1917 and met my grandfather who lived on the street and in the house behind hers. She talked about her mother making snapper soup and traveling through the neighborhood to someone's house where they sold the turtles in their yard. Her mother would take her to pick out the turtle. Honestly, that repulses me to no end, but it also makes me laugh at the thought of going to someone's backyard in Philly to pick out a snapping turtle to make dinner. She talked about using a red soap (I think called Lava) to wash her hair to give it red highlights. She told me about her friend whose father had an illegal still in his basement during prohibition and sneaking moonshine. She went to Kensington High School, but suffered from such bad migraines, that she never finished her senior year. I know this bothered her, but I suppose it wasn't unusual back then.
My grandmother told me about going for car rides with my grandfather around Fairmount Park. He was a mechanic and had access to nice cars--what a way to impress! Her mother wouldn't let her get married until she was 21, so despite meeting him in her early teens, she waited until June of 1938 to get married.
My grandfather died when I was 12 years old, so I never really got to know him well. My grandmother didn't learn to drive until after his death, and she frequently told me how much she enjoyed it. As the years wore on, her driving skills were a bit scary. My sister and I still laugh at the story of her driving us around when we visited with her high-beam lights on the entire time. She said it was to help her see, but I don't think she ever realized the challenge she created for other drivers. She reluctantly gave up her car when it became too dangerous and too expensive to maintain. She did own a golf cart for a while when she lived in a community in Bradenton. She had fun driving it, and so did I when I visited.
Cats were very important to my grandmom and I don't recall her ever not owning one or two. She took great care of them and they always lived until they were in the 20s, which is old for a cat. They always had people names: Cindy, Suzie, Eric, Tara, Beau; and they were always either Siamese or part Himalayan breeds.
I'll miss visiting her in Florida. Over the years, Chris and I have decided that we love the Sarasota area. The beaches are beautiful and so relaxing. I regret that Andrew never got to meet his great-grandmother or see Florida while she lived there. I hope to take him there someday to see Lido Beach and Siesta Key Beach and share with him some of his family history.
How cool was my grandmother--she went to the Hard Rock Cafe with me in Orlando! This was so long ago, 1992.
The last time we went to Florida to see her was in October of 2006. We spent a week staying on Lido Beach and drove to see her at her apartment in Sarasota frequently. She was too frail to go out with us, so I spent as much time as I could at her place. I always left sad, wondering if I'd get to see her again.
I'm glad that I did get to see her when I did and that she was able to see Andrew through photos and hear him on the phone. She would have gotten a kick out of him and all of her great grand kids, although I think she preferred adults over kids! She was fiesty until the end and had lots of spunk!
