Ginny Marie

It happens every year. I finish teaching preschool before my daughters are out of school, and that first day of summer vacation for me is rough. I always have a plan of getting so much accomplished on that full day all to myself! And of course, it’s full of my usual tasks; getting a load of laundry done, loading the dishwasher, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

This morning, I was loading the last of the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher and it hit me. Again. I miss my girls.

When I’m teaching, the mornings are so rushed that I don’t have time to miss them. Everyone needs to get ready for school, including myself, and then as soon as I send the girls off the school, I’m busy with my own classroom. When I get home in the afternoon, there a rush to get things done before the girls come home from school. It’s a luxury many working moms don’t have! Throughout all that busyness, I don’t miss my daughters.

Today, my first day of summer break, I miss them. Oh, I know once school is over for them they will drive me to the brink of insanity and I’ll wonder why I missed them during these few days I’m home without them. But for now, I miss them.

2016 Chorus Concert

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When you look at this photo, what do you see? Do you just see an elderly woman?

That wasn’t a trick question. But when I look at this picture, I see so much.

I see her delicately fingering the brooch at her neck. It was a gift to her from my sisters and me. I can hear her laugh, as she says, “Well, I don’t know, this joke is rather crass but all the ladies at the old people’s home seem to like it,” as she proceeds to tell a joke that I certainly never thought I’d hear Grandma tell.

Her voice is in my head, as she tells me that in her later years she prefers to sleep in a little, and have some toast with jelly for breakfast. Her coffee is weak, but her cinnamon rolls are still as good as ever. It is one of my cherished recipes, written out in her own graceful handwriting.

I am baking cinnamon rolls this morning, so am going to try to tell you how to do it. It takes more than a recipe. It is a process.

Grandma loved all her grandchildren fiercely, and she loved her great grandchildren even more. She was a great blessing to us! Grandma died several years ago, but memories of her live on in all of her grandchildren.

Who’s been a blessing in your life? When you look at photos of that person, I’m sure you see more than what is apparent to the eye!