The Quintessential Grandma
I mentioned yesterday that my grandma died when I was 12.
Grandma Olga Melby would have been 88 this year but was taken much too soon in her late 60s.
She got sick with what we now know was autoimmune hepatitis...a treatable disease in this day, but not as much 20 years ago.
Yellowing of her skin and her eyes were the first signs.
After much testing, poking and prodding they reached a diagnosis, but not a cure.
In my 12 year old brain I didn't realize how sick she was.
Instead I was focused, along with my siblings, on sneaking our dog in to show her and other things that tweens do.
The phone call I received from my family while at Bible camp saying she was gone left me truly shocked.
Not Grandma!
For the first 7 years of my life we lived just a field away from her and Grandpa.
I remember May Days running through the field with my sisters to their house, knocking on the door, leaving a basket on the handle, certain Grandma wouldn't know who it was from.
Nevermind that she likely watched us coming over through the kitchen window.
She was big on holidays and each one brought a letter in the mail with stickers and a handwritten note signed: G'ma and G'pa Melby.
I can still see her handwriting...
From overnights to playing games to 6am cartoons on Saturday mornings (that she set her alarm for so she could wake us up, at our request), Grandma engaged us and loved us dearly.
She made macaroni with shells before they had the boxed version of that and let us put our own cheese powder on.
Bacon, cut in half so we could eat more pieces.
There was always "lunch" with coffee, pickles, mints, hardunger lefse with homemade strawberry jelly and whatever pie she had made that day.
She made the best pies.
But the crown of her grandma-hood in our eyes was the candy dish!
There was a divided candy dish atop her fridge that held caramels, starbursts, and whatever other kind of goodies we liked.
The second we came in we begged for the candy dish and she always obliged.
We got to go the drugstore when we stayed on the weekends and pick out something.
I usually chose an Archie comic.
Her JCPenney and Sears catalogs were covered with circles and names when Christmas came near.
We were never disappointed.
Orange tic tacs, short-sleeved shirts, curlers in her hair overnight, soft jiggly arms and the perfect lap all come to mind when I think about Grandma Melby.
Never did I imagine I would miss her so much or appreciate her so hugely still 20 years after she left us.
I wish she could have met my husband, known my children.
I wish they could have known her.
Can't wait to introduce them when we join her in heaven some day... :)
Grandma is missed by all who knew her, especially her children and grandchildren.
She leaves quite a legacy.
Grandma Olga Melby would have been 88 this year but was taken much too soon in her late 60s.
She got sick with what we now know was autoimmune hepatitis...a treatable disease in this day, but not as much 20 years ago.
Yellowing of her skin and her eyes were the first signs.
After much testing, poking and prodding they reached a diagnosis, but not a cure.
In my 12 year old brain I didn't realize how sick she was.
Instead I was focused, along with my siblings, on sneaking our dog in to show her and other things that tweens do.
The phone call I received from my family while at Bible camp saying she was gone left me truly shocked.
Not Grandma!
For the first 7 years of my life we lived just a field away from her and Grandpa.
I remember May Days running through the field with my sisters to their house, knocking on the door, leaving a basket on the handle, certain Grandma wouldn't know who it was from.
Nevermind that she likely watched us coming over through the kitchen window.
She was big on holidays and each one brought a letter in the mail with stickers and a handwritten note signed: G'ma and G'pa Melby.
I can still see her handwriting...
From overnights to playing games to 6am cartoons on Saturday mornings (that she set her alarm for so she could wake us up, at our request), Grandma engaged us and loved us dearly.
She made macaroni with shells before they had the boxed version of that and let us put our own cheese powder on.
Bacon, cut in half so we could eat more pieces.
There was always "lunch" with coffee, pickles, mints, hardunger lefse with homemade strawberry jelly and whatever pie she had made that day.
She made the best pies.
But the crown of her grandma-hood in our eyes was the candy dish!
There was a divided candy dish atop her fridge that held caramels, starbursts, and whatever other kind of goodies we liked.
The second we came in we begged for the candy dish and she always obliged.
We got to go the drugstore when we stayed on the weekends and pick out something.
I usually chose an Archie comic.
Her JCPenney and Sears catalogs were covered with circles and names when Christmas came near.
We were never disappointed.
Orange tic tacs, short-sleeved shirts, curlers in her hair overnight, soft jiggly arms and the perfect lap all come to mind when I think about Grandma Melby.
Never did I imagine I would miss her so much or appreciate her so hugely still 20 years after she left us.
I wish she could have met my husband, known my children.
I wish they could have known her.
Can't wait to introduce them when we join her in heaven some day... :)
Grandma is missed by all who knew her, especially her children and grandchildren.
She leaves quite a legacy.
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| This is the only picture I could find of Grandma and Grandpa. It was taken one or two Christmas's before she died. Aren't we a hot looking bunch??? |
Great memories Tember! It made me think of my grandmas, that are still alive and how fortunate I am to still have them. Great post!
ReplyDeleteFun to read your memories about your Grandma Melby! Brings back lots of memories of my Grandma Melby too! I was just looking through some old church cookbooks and came across some recipes from Mrs. Edward Melby! :-)
ReplyDeleteI remember playing a lot of games of "Greed" at their house! I have been told that when I was really little I called your Gpa & Gma Melby "Ebba" and "No-No"...I must have been a little mischeiveous! And one random memory...if I remember right - did she have double-jointed elbows?? I remember her standing up, putting her hands on the table in front of her, and being able to turn her elbows in a way that I could not! :-)