May 9th.
The best woman I know? That’s easy. My Grandma Ole. She taught me a lot of things. And she could’ve taught me a lot more, but I only had 14 years with her.
It’s her birthday today. May 9th.
It’s a hard day, and it never seems to get easier. Even after more than 10 years.
The last memory I have is my aunt Neala singing Amazing Grace from the row behind me at the funeral. Although it was through tears, it was the most incredibly beautiful version of that song I’ve heard in my life. To this day, I hear it and I think of her. I’m actually not sure how she made it through the song.
“Twas grace that taught my heart to fear…
And grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.”
I miss her. Her funny quirks, like the way she said “schwans” (instead of swans), or put an extra ‘e’ sound in the word “video.” Or how her favorite expression was, “Oh gads…”
She taught Kels, Ash and I how to make string dolls. And how to bake the perfect apple pie. And how to throw a proper dinner party. One Christmas, she even baked a birthday cake for Jesus. And we all - the entire Ellingson family - sat around the table and sang Happy Birthday.
She could handle any situation with the most grace and compassion I’ve seen from anyone. There are five grandchildren and we were a handful, yet she had endless patience. She stayed with us when my sister was born. She was there the morning my parents bought a new house (at the time, it took a lot of convincing to get me to move). She was there when my uncle was sick to reassure us that yes, everything would turn out okay. And I’m fairly confident that she was there for absolutely any grandparent-like duty that ever came up.
So, happy birthday to the most wonderful woman I’ve ever known. I hope to someday have as much grace and compassion as you left us with.
We miss you like crazy.
