Remembering Granny on what would have been her 96th birthday.

I think of Granny (and Poppa) every day, but since today would have been her 96th birthday, I thought I would share some pictures and memories with you as well.

Granny let me scan a whole bunch of old pictures she had, cause I didn't have any pictures of her when she was younger or when Mum was younger. This one is from January 1957. I don't know where it was taken, I just know that it is Granny and Mum and Aunt Donna.

This is another one of Granny and Mum and Aunt Donna. I'm pretty sure it's taken in Ailsa Craig, but I'm not certain on the date it was taken.

Here is Granny and Poppa. He was the love of her life.

Mum took Granny on a bus trip once where she met her pen pal! They had been pen pals for years and they finally met. 

I'm not exactly sure what birthday this was, but look at that smile. Granny always didn't want to smile when you were taking a picture of her. So you had to either try and make her laugh when you were taking the picture, or you had to catch her off guard like in this one. I loved her smile. I think she was beautiful. I would tell her that and she would just give one or her "grrmph" noises!

This is my all time favorite picture of Granny and Joel. They are just casually sitting on the couch having a chat. We would get Granny to come over to our place and visit for sometimes a week at a time. I loved those times. We would either go and pick her up or Poppa would bring her and drop her off. 

When we lived in Woodstock on Bruce Street, we hosted the Lightfoot Christmas one year. Clearly, these two were just partied right out!

And then Mum would host Christmas sometimes as well. Granny loved this present. Her faith was always strong.

This picture holds a special place in my heart. Granny and Aunt Mabel's Aunt Edna passed away and I offered to take them to the funeral. I offered to take Uncle George as well, but he was having a few health issues at the time and didn't want to be a bother to us. It's too bad he did not come with us, because he passed away a short time later. All the cousins/relatives were so happy to see Granny and Aunt Mabel, and they were so thankful that I brought them up. You know at the end of the day, it's not the huge grandiose things that people do that get remembered, it's the little heartfelt things that make the most impact and secure a piece of your heart. I was blessed I was able to take these two to Aunt Edna's celebration of life.

This picture was taken at Granny's Open House we had for her for her 90th birthday. We started off with a family lunch and then after lunch we had invited people to come and say hi and celebrate her 90th birthday. We had a sign in book and if I remember correctly there were roughly 60+ people who came to see her. She kept saying, why did all these people come to see me? She was so funny. Always doing or wanting to do things for others, but never expected people to do things for her. The two people with her are Jason Soldan and Tracy (Soldan) Spratt. Granny was very happy to see these two. She spoke of them often. About visiting them at the Bend. I was very happy they made a point of coming to see her.

And we had to get a picture of Granny with her kids. Aunt Donna, Uncle Mel and Mum. I think they were all about ready to burst out laughing. I can't remember what somebody said.....probably something to get Granny to smile for the picture!

This picture was taken in her bed at the nursing home. The girls at Chateau Gardens treated her so well. I know going to the nursing home was a big step for her, but there really was no other choice, and we were blessed and thankful that the girls were so great. They would kid around with her and she would get to giggling and it was so nice to see.

This shot makes me chuckle!!!! Look at the look on her face! She looks like she is saying "take the picture already!"

I'm pretty sure this was one Mother's Day. The girls dolled her up a bit with some make up before everyone got there, and put on her cherished cameo broach and earrings.

When the weather was nice, we would take Granny out for walks around town. We took her down to her eye appointment one day, and for ice cream another day.

It's funny the way animals can sense things. We took Charlie into see Granny one day. Joel had a really good grip on her leash, as we were not sure how she was going to react, with the new surroundings, the wheel chair etc. But she was great. I didn't post them, but we took a few pictures and the first few we just let Charlie sit beside Granny in the wheel chair to get used to it and Granny basically paid no attention to her. Then Granny looked at her and then she pet her and Charlie loved it. She sat right beside the chair and was very gentle with Granny and Granny loved meeting her.

I would stop by to visit as often as I could. When I had to come into town to pick up Jade or Joel from field hockey, volleyball or basketball practice, I would head in a little early to give me a chance to visit with Granny until it was time to pick them up.

This picture was taken of Granny when she was working on her "cards". She had a list of people who had birthdays each month. Mum would go and buy the cards and then Granny would sign them and put the stamps on them and the stickers. She did most of the addressing until her hands would get sore and then Mum would do the rest. It was fun to watch her going through her stickers and deciding which one to put on which card. I can't see a package of stickers without thinking about her.

Jade popped in to see Granny the night she got all dressed up for the prom. She wanted her to see her hair how it was all curly and done up pretty. Granny thought she looked pretty darn good!

Since the nursing home was so close to the school, we were able to wheel Granny over for Jade's graduation. She said she enjoyed it very much. And I know that it was very special for Jade to have her there. 

This is one of my favorite pictures of Granny. It was taken at Swiss Chalet in London on her 80th birthday. Mum and Anna took her into London for lunch and I surprised her by meeting her there to have lunch with them. I remember her giggling when the waiter told her that she looked 60! She certainly got a kick out of that.

I miss her each and every day and wish with every ounce of my being that I could go and visit her like I used to. She is an enormous part of who I am and I was blessed to have her in my life. I love you Granny. 

Jacqui