this past weekend i was able to catch up with my grandma katie. she is one of the most influential and inspirational people in my life. spending time with her is huge gift.

my grandmother hasn't had the easiest life. the love of her life, my grandfather, died when my mother was six...my grandmother was left with 3 children under the age of 8 and not much else. she remarried and her second husband died unexpectedly when my mother was 16. i really can't imagine...but the stories i her from my relatives, including grandma and mom are just amazing. snakes in sinks, skirts made from curtains (how sound of music), boats made in basements, myriad stray dogs...the list goes on and on...

my grandmother held four jobs at one point. the crazy thing is that grandma katie is in her mid eighties and still works a 40+ hour work week as a receptionist. she is not on any medication and the only glasses she wears are purchased at the pharmacy.

i love spending time with her. i try to call her regularly and i am always trying to coax her into the city. i live exactly one block from where she grew up. walking around the west village with her is incredible.

some of my favorite grandma memories are walking jones beach as a little girl collecting jingle shells, playing mini-golf, bowling (she was in a league for years), picking out easter dresses at reed's department store...more recently, having her come and see every apartment i have lived in in nyc, helping me pick fabric for curtains, laying in a puddle of tears in her arms at the end of a long relationship and having her rub my head and say, "always remember that you come from a long line of strong women", having her tell me that my 350 square foot apartment "would do her just fine", and having her by my side when i blew out my birthday candles this year...

i feel so lucky to have this relationship in my life. and when i feel like a day is not going well i think of my grandma and her life. the things that make her happy are a single glass of rose and chocolate, which she pronounces chaw-co-late. pretty easy, huh? grandma never complains...she can get cranky...i think she deserves to be a little cranky. i know the quick fix...it's to sidle up next to her and hold her hand. works every time.