Life changes...

So...I haven't been blogging the last week and a half because my grandma got very sick...I was spending all my free time in the hospital.  Unfortunately, she had wounds on her legs that wouldn't heal...after several years of battling infection successfully...the infection took over and she passed quietly and peacefully.  It was probably the saddest days of my life thus far...you see, my Grams wasn't just a Grandma...sure, she loved me and my sisters unconditionally like most Grandma's do...but she was different.  First and foremost...she helped my mom deliver all of us at home...which I'm sure helped our bonds become stronger.  Secondly, my dad was not a good dad...I won't get into it all...but my Grandma became our other parent...she stepped into the role without hesitation.  She was one of the few people in my young life who made me feel like she wanted me around.  My grandma had the patience of a saint...and never seemed to run out of the want and desire to teach and mold us.  My mom says she would call and ask for us to come and spend the weekend with her...yes...all five of us!  My grandma helped me learn how to sew, to cook, to swim, to crochet...she taught me about flowers and gardening.  She sat through many dance performances and several randitions of "Andrea and Billie Jo's Water Show"...and she always clapped at the end!!!  She held me and rocked me when I needed it...and held my hand when I needed her support.  My grandma taught me what hard work was...she was a hard worker all her life....and she taught me to never allow myself or anyone else to stand in my way.  She taught me to appreciate all that I had...even if I didn't have a lot of possesions or monetary items....I still had a lot to be thankful for. 
My grandma taught me that giving of myself provides the greatest rewards...she spent her life entertaining and cooking for anyone who would eat!  Here are some of the lessons my grandma taught me:

1. Everything tastes better cooked in bacon fat
2. No recipe can be made "low-fat"
3. If two is good...four is better
4. Always make a ham AND a turkey
5. A meal is not complete without buns...or homemade bread
6. Corn is THE vegetable
7. Every breakfast menu must contain bacon or sausage...sometimes both
8. You must save the bacon and sausage drippings...see #1
9. You can make everything yourself...it's not that hard...it tastes better and it's cheaper
10. There's no alternative to butter...except lard

I'm sure I could go on and on...but you get the drift.  Today I will say good-bye to my Grams...someone who has been there for me every step of the way.  I sit and wonder how I'll make it through life's events without having her to share them with...but I guess I'll still be sharing them with her...just in a different way.  Life changes...sometimes for the good, sometimes it seems for the bad...but there are always reasons for the changes...we just don't know them yet.