[Mariec]

I decided to share a memory of hope and love...

My grandmother was born in a family, while not rich, had some comfort, she decided to become a school teacher and did until she was over 32 years old, when she met my grand-father. Even though she had had many pretendants, none had met her expectations, except fot this man who had nothing more than a farm to offer. They got married somea few months after being introduced by a common parent (they were far cousins) and had 8 children. My grandparents didn't have an easy life, they were farmers and thus poor, and a particuliar year left them crippled with debts (that year my father broke an arm, my grand-mother had bronchitis, my father hurt his hand and couldn't work for month and finally one of their daughter almost died from polio). But there was love, affection and complicity between these two and they inspired me... you see, my parents are divorced (they separated when I was 2) and my mother remained single throughout my childhood and teenage years, but I had my grand-parents to look up to. They would tease or thickle each other or just be in the same room, their love and affection was felt by everyone around.

Once I talked for hours with my grand-father and he told me about his life, how he had been let down by his own father, how debts were hard (they finally finished reimbursing when I was about 10!) and how he still couldn't believe my grand-mother had accepted to mary him, to leave a house where they had in-house plumbing and electricity for a house where she had to get water from the well to wash her clothes... he was standing there, 6 feet tall with hands as big as my head, with tears in his eyes. They made me believe it was possible to go through life, hardship and hurt and still love each other like the first day... no better than the first day.

When I got married, my grand-mother told me, with sparkling eyes, that the secret of a successful marriage was for the woman to be 6 months older than her husband (which we both are, or were in her case). I've celebrated my 14th anniversary last december and we have 3 wonderful kids together. And each day, I try to make a gesture, whether a smile, a joke or a caress in passing, to keep the love, affection and complicity alive, just like my grand-parents did so many years ago...

[DDecker]

My nephew was born 7 weeks early last October. My sister had been quite sick for about 6 weeks and they could not figure out what was wrong. We were very lucky that he was 5.9lbs even so early and never needed oxygen. He was in the NICU for 5 weeks before he went home. The day after he was born I was at the hospital with my daughter, she just turned 20. The nurses kept mistaking me for the baby's GRANDMOTHER not aunt. It became clear to me the first time it happened that I was the same age as my mom was when my daughter was born. It was a very strange moment to realize that I could in fact BE a grandmother.
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Now I am not sure what to do. I have a layout that I can post of my nephew's first bath in the NICU but I didn't save my files properly to figure out who's tags and ribbons I used on the layout. I don't want to post something and not give proper credit for the elements used.

HELP

http://scrapgirls.com.ipbhost.com/index.ph...cmd=si&img=6190

[LacyT]

My Grandfather

I was very lucky as a child. I had many people around me who loved me and helped raise me. My great grand parents were alive when my daughter was born. I spent many wonderful hours with them when I was young. But the person who made the biggest impression in my life was my grandfather, Paul.
My grandfather was, from as far back as I can remember, the most important person in my life. He taught me right from wrong, how to be kind to people, unconditional love, patience, understanding, compassion, serving others, and of course those other important things like how to fish, what to wear when mowing a lawn and even fix cars. When he was home from work, I could be found somewhere around him.
He would often have to work at odd times. Sometimes when he had to go out in the evening to check the roads, (he worked for the county road commission,) I would get lucky and was allowed to go with him and ride along. There were no seat belts back then. I remember when he needed to check for ice on the road, he would slow down, tell me to not be afraid and to hang on, and step on the brakes. If we came to a sudden stop there was no ice and if we continued to move? The salt trucks got called out. He would always make a special stop on those evenings at a small cafe. He would get coffee and I would get a doughnut. I was his little helper.
I remember being 3 or 4 years old, he would have to go in and check the furnace at the garage where all of the “huge” trucks were kept. To a tiny person, even a normal truck is big, but the big snowplows? They were giant machines! We would walk by them one by one to get to the furnace, and I would ask him each time what the different ones were called, or point out the ones I could remember. We would go to the very back of the garage, it was cold and wet from melting snow of the machines, and down some stairs. He would always go to the furnace, say “stand back, it is hot” and open the furnace door. He would look in to check the fire, poke it with a long poker, and then put shovel after shovel of coal in the chute that slowly emptied into the furnace.
At home, in the evening during TV time (we were severely limited on how much we could watch at that time), he would let me comb his hair, set on his lap, or if what he wanted to watch was done, I could read to him. Looking back I now understand he had the patience of Job to put up with me. He never once laid a hand on me in punishment. If I was doing something wrong, I would get his “look” and I stopped. He would be the one to get yelled at by my grandmother for doing things she though “we” should not. Like the times when he let me put on his old, dirty work jacket and cap. Or we would go out to hunt for mushrooms in the spring and have to cook them in the garage. He would go and get 2 plates and 2 forks, said if we had to cook them out there, we would eat them out there! He made me bait my own hook and clean my own fish, said if I was old enough to fish, I was old enough to do the job correctly. We would go out to the woods and he would teach me about finding my way, animal tracks, plants we could eat and those we could not. And surprise me sometimes with crackers and limburger cheese, a treat of ours. (Which of course were also not allowed in the house due to the smell, and it would spoil our dinner!) He was always being accused of “spoiling that child” by the rest of the family.
My mother, half brother and I lived with my grandparents for most of my life (while they were alive and I was not married and gone). We would leave, but always, because of “circumstances” end up back with them. To me that was home. Their door was always open if we needed to come back. Unconditionally. He was who I went to when I had problems, needed advice, was lonely, or just wanted companionship for a while. He was the one who helped me with my homework. He was more a father/friend to me than a grandfather.
Later in my life, my (now) ex-husband and I were heading to North Dakota to lay pipelines for the oil fields. I remember coming back to the house and it was my grandfather who had helped us find a travel trailer which was to be our home for the next couple of years, get the pick-up ready and help us pack the trailer to leave. We said goodbye to the family in the house, but my grandfather put on his coat, hat and came out to “see us off”. I was excited but sad to be leaving and moving “what felt to be so far away” from the family. I remember like it was yesterday, getting in the pick-up, rolling down the window and giving my grandfather a last kiss good-bye. Waving and waving as we drove off. Seeing my grandfather standing there, alone, waving. Suddenly I started to sob. Of course he wanted to know what was wrong and I said I feel like this is the last time I will ever see my grandfather alive! He said, “You are being ridiculous, we will be back maybe at Christmas, or at least by next summer.” The horrid feeling did not pass… I cried off and on for hours. That was the fall of 81… October. We did not make it home that Christmas, and in March of 82, it was a Thursday… my mother called to tell me my grandfather had had a stroke and was in the hospital. I immediately started throwing things in a suitcase, getting ready for the 22 hour drive back. I stopped, (my ex-husband told me later I had the strangest look on my face) and I said, “I must call the hospital, now, before we do anything else.” I called and was told he had just passed away.
Even now, 24 years later, I continue to grieve about the loss of my grandfather and know I will miss him until the day that I am gone.

The layout is at:
http://scrapgirls.com.ipbhost.com/index.ph...cmd=si&img=6222

[DDecker]

At the very young age of 20 I found myself a single expectant mother. My sister was 16 and helped me so much, people actully thought my daugher was hers for a while. When my daughter was 16, sister had her first child, Sam. My daughter reminds me so much of my sister everytime I see her with my neice. She even comes home from college to hang out and babysit.

My daughter took the picture I used on this page.

btw...Sam is the older sister of Ethan that I did my very first layout of.

http://scrapgirls.com.ipbhost.com/index.ph...cmd=si&img=6224

[DDecker]

This picture was taken the day we had to send our boy to the big play-yard in the sky. My daughter came home from college and my husband told work he had to go home, he had friend that was dying. We all went together and it was SO hard. When M got back to school the kids in her dorm had broken into her room and filled it with balloons and cards. Such a sad and great day all at once. I was so moved by my daughters ADULT friends.

http://scrapgirls.com.ipbhost.com/index.ph...cmd=si&img=6228

[lyndagilles]

Nan raised me all of my life and taught me many of the values that I still carry on today. Even some of the saying I use today without thinking are hers and then I think where is she. Every 2nd summer we’d go back to where she was raised so she could show us “our roots”, and visit family and friends that owned a car that the seats were covered with plastic I still to this day remember sticking to those seats. When I was four years old I remember a train trip from Ottawa to Winnipeg, Manitoba that took a long time. We slept on the train it was so much fun there was a black bear outside our train one night before dusk but we didn’t own a camera so I don’t have a picture. When we got to Winnipeg we stayed a week at my Uncle Bud’s and I ended up with the Birthday Party of my Lifetime. It was great with my cousin’s Laura and David and Aunt Arlene. It was the only trip that Nan and I ever had and that little pink and white dog she gave me was so special.

We did lots of fun things I can think back to times near the end when I would ask what my purpose was and why and she would call me by my nickname and say “you’ll be ok, you’ll find true love and you’ll be happy”. She didn’t live long enough to see me find happiness in my life but I know she knows. I feel her with me every day especially on the hard days. My kindness and good qualities I owe it all to her, my life is owed to her.

http://scrapgirls.com.ipbhost.com/index.ph...cmd=si&img=6240

[NanaTrishie]

Many years ago I had a breakdown. I was trying to be Super Trish.....I was dealing with a Mother that was in a nursing home (trying to be the perfect daughter & Mother at times to her), perfect wife (to a husband that worked on the road a lot), perfect Mom (to 2 stepchildren), perfect employee (at a full time job doing a new position with a lot of responsibility), perfect co-worker (helping others do their work as I could never say no).

It started slowly with me being mad at the world but not knowing why and of course the crying (always hidden so no one was aware of it). It escalated to not remembering things from one minute to the next (very frustrating but scary too). It all came to a head one day at work when I cracked and started to cry and couldn't stop. I went to the Dr's right away and when he asked me what was wrong all I could say was that I had lost ME and that I didn't know who I was anymore. He was very kind and knew right away what was going on and told me to go home and do absolutely nothing for a couple of days and to explain to my husband how I was feeling.

My husband was upset at himself for not realizing that something was wrong with me and that I had too much on my plate. Of course he wouldn't have know as I was very good at concealing it and was good at multi tasking.

My Dr sent me to a therapist who was able to teach me how to say NO! and that it wasn't my responsibilty to take on everyones problems and also to let people know when I needed help doing things and that it didn't make me a lesser person if I did.

I think the most important thing that he taught me was that it is very imperative that everyone should have ME TIME without guilt attached to it. For years I had put my wants and needs aside so that I could do what everyone else in my life wanted but now I have "ME TIME" and my husband is all for it. To this day if I see that someone is taking on too much and trying to be a superperson I tell them about ME TIME and how important it is for their well being. I not only believe in it but I live it every day!!!!

[lyndagilles]

_________
Memory
_________

I will never forgot my wedding day because the photographer blew the photo’s. But the lesson learned is it wasn’t about the photo’s. I was marrying the prince in my eyes still (some days not) but bottom line that’s what marriage is. Love is what you make of it and we work on it every day, our promise many years ago, never go to bed mad.

For 16 years my husband and I have gone to this small little fair every year. There was this booth that we passed once we got past the main gate and I told him we will get our pictures done. Well two years ago we did, now the story behind the Bonnie and Clyde is that it matches a Wedding photo the photographer snapped after we had to do retakes of our wedding pictures on this blistering hot day. Here we are our special day of our wedding and when does he tell us at the end of the evening that his lens was broken and he knew while he was in the church. I just about cried because several of the special type of pictures I wanted didn’t turn out and we lost all of the ones inside the church. After a long day of retakes we were both tired and fed up he caught us without knowing and I named it “Bonnie and Clyde”. We have the look on our faces I guess. Lesson here marriage is about the ups and downs take them as they come we are still together happy 21 years later. The words explain it.

http://scrapgirls.com.ipbhost.com/index.ph...cmd=si&img=6248

[Ro]

It's over this morning, everyone. Thank you SO much for sharing with us.

I'll announce the winner in tomorrow's newsletter. :-)