A tribute to my grandma, to whom I dedicated my book.

This is my Grandma Diane. Today would have been her 81st birthday. She always encouraged me to write, and I once told her I would dedicate my first book to her. I was mostly kidding around because I never expected to actually write a book. Years later, when I began working on my children’s book, I told her about the project and said I would dedicate it to her. This was the perfect opportunity too, because the book was about chickens and my grandma used to tell me about the two bantam hens she once raised, and how they made the cutest little hardboiled eggs to garnish the top of her potato salads. Her kitchen was filled with chicken décor, little statues and paintings, some of which decorate my own kitchen now.

I was devastated when Grandma Diane passed away a few years ago. I was still working on the children’s book, and though I used to send her updates and pictures of the illustrations, it broke my heart to know she wouldn’t get to see the finished product. I still can’t talk about it without bursting into tears (grabbing a tissue now…). 

I’m sharing some of my favorite photos of her here. In one of them, she’s teaching me to decorate a cake. In another, she’s holding my newborn daughter, her great grandchild. I’ve also included photos of her garden, along with pictures she took of her plants and the captions she wrote about them. These little remarks really capture her personality! I’ll type them below, in case you have trouble reading her handwriting: 

"These lilies clashed with Lisa’s color scheme! Lucky me!” (My mom gave the lilies to her when she realized the blooms didn’t fit in her own garden.) 

“Dutch Iris. NO BLOOMS FOR 3 YEARS. Threatened to get rid of it so – 1 bloom.”

“What are these things?” (Gesturing to a patch of pretty yellow flowers she doesn’t recognize, but still included in her photo album. Haha!) 

I come from a long line of avid gardeners, spanning at least five generations, if not more. All three of my children have developed an interest in gardening in their own unique ways, and it warms my heart to be passing along the tradition. 

Happy heavenly birthday, Grandma. I’ll always love you.