Ninety Years Young

This last weekend we had the pleasure of attending Grandma Izzy’s 90th birthday party. David’s grandmother and Miss Is namesake. The last time Maddy saw Great-Grandma Isabel, she was 18 months old.

Before leaving for Ogden, we tried to explain who this red headed gal was and why it was important for Maddy to meet her, “So this is the lady that was named after me!” I think she got it.

Grandma is as sharp as a tack, remembered each one of her ten grandchildren and thirty-one great-grandchildren’s names, including those she hasn’t seen in nearly four years. She spoke about her wedding and her wedding dress that her mother wore before her, made from Japanese silk that her grandfather carried across the sea. The same dress she had worn to meet the President of the United States, at her 50th wedding anniversary and that she now wished to wear one last time to her final resting place along side Grandpa. (Some in the family are having a fit over the loss of such an heirloom.)

The reception in Pleasant View was well attended, not only by those still lingering, but by their children and grandchildren as well. Grandma and her best friend from childhood, Athleen chummed together like a bunch of giggling school girls. I learned about their running joke, “Is a bell really necessary?” You could just tell by watching these vibrant ladies that they were quite the troublemakers in their youth. Remembering that they were once as young as I am - as my children are - is hard to imagine when they’ve been known as Grandma for so long.

Love you Grandma Isabel!

Labels: Family