Sharing Thanks for remembering Grandma's Joys

December 03, 2014

Grandma with Becky and Liz in New Hope

We are remembered by what we create while we live. This post is dedicated to the life of Catherine Virginia Davidson who passed away this November at the age of 87. I have been reflecting on her life and the love she gave our family. I am thankful for Grandma for treating me like one of her daughters. Grandma came into the world in Baltimore weighing less then 3 pounds. She was determined to live and was an only child to older parents. This may be why she was cautious, and could be stubborn. There is fine line between stubbornness and determination. Her mom was a seamstress and my mother-in-law loved to make homemade dresses for her three granddaughters. She would say that she did not have a creative bone in her body, yet she was an artist and made many beautiful garments including my wedding dress! She loved figuring out how to cut the material for the patterns. She loved her family and was married over 50 years and had four children, and five grandchildren. She had a scientific mind and loved to research doctor's qualifications. She also worked as a manager in consumer market research. She loved to fix things. I remember her fixing appliances, dryers, and vacuum cleaners.She was a homebody.When she travelled she preferred going by car, train, or cruiseship! She hated flying.

One kindness I will always be thankful for was when she noticed my daughter Liz was not hearing. She came with me to the North Shore University Hearing center, the day I found out Liz was deaf. She had heard of cochlear implants and told me to ask her ENT doctor about them. I had never heard of a cochlear implant and my view of deafness was based on seeing, "Children from a Lesser God." She wrote to NYU, to find out about their cochlear implant program. She took a year of ASL at the Helen Keller center. ASL did not come easy to her with her arthritic hands. She supported us on our decision to get Liz a cochlear implant, and even sat in on sessions with Liz's first Speech Therapist Linda Hirsch.

Grandma was generous with her time and babysat my daughters 2 or 3 days a week for several years when I worked full time when the kids were younger. I ended up leaving work to help manage my younger daughter's therapy six months after learning she was deaf. Grandma loved giving my husband and I a date night out and enjoyed letting the kids sleep over. She also enjoyed visits from family members pets. She did enjoy the dogs more than the cats. I believe she even watched over a guinea pig while we were away.

It is fitting to celebrate someone's life by listing what brought them joy! To any family or friends reading this post I invite you to add to Grandma's joy list. Here are some of grandma's joys.

Spending time with her family.
Having political discussions. Be prepared to debate your point of view.
Eating hardshell crabs from Baltimore with lots of Old Bay Spice
Watching sports on TV. Go Yankees! She was also known to root for Boston College, Pitt, Duke, Boston University and Haverford.
Baking Barbie Birthday cakes.
Going to an Irish Pub and listening to folk tunes. She loved watching the step dancers!
Having picnics at Jones Beach with her family after the sun went down.
Going to Sunday Mass.
Sewing
She said she loved ice skating growing up. I never actually saw her ice skate as I met her later in life.
Working at Johns Hopkins
Loved her High School and College.
Trips to Ocean City Maryland with her friends.
Cruising on the QE2 across the Atlantic with Papa, and a tour of Ireland
Celebrating 50 years of marriage by vacationing with the entire extended family at Skytop
The color Blue! She loved wearing blue outfits that she often had made.
Listening to music at Eisenhower Park with a zorn's picnic.
Tinsel on the Chirstmas tree.
Hosting family celebrations: Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving.
Eating out on the back porch. She loved making ambrosia and german potato salad. My fav!
Getting a bouquet of daisies!
Tabasco sauce, grandma liked it hot!
A good bloody Mary, or a martini
Dinner with candle light
Cooking with pressure cookers.
Getting hugs and kisses from her grandchildren.
Going to grandparents day at her grandchildren's elementary schools
Doing crossword puzzles and reading newspapers.
Staying up late on election night to watch the results.
The annual pilgrimage to Baltimore to stay with Aunt Mary