Dear Grandma,

Isn’t is crazy how much of an impact one person can make in your life? I don’t know who I would be or where I would be if I did not have you as my grandma. You are such a significant part of who I am and who I want to be. Sometimes it is hard to put words together when explaining how important of a person you are to me, but the only two words that come to mind are:

Thank you.

Thank you for teaching me the value of hard work. You may have been a stay at home mom, but you are one of the most hardworking women I know. You are always moving and doing something. You spent your life raising four incredible women, who I am sure gave you the hardest time of your life, and taking care of the man you fell in love with and married at 17. You were the glue that held the family together, and you still are to this day. You cook, clean, do laundry, feed the animals, sew, and the list goes on and on. Even when you got you kidney removed, you insisted on helping clean up after Thanksgiving even after five of us were already trying to do it for you.

Thank you for teaching me that success comes in many forms. You don’t have to be first or at the top to be successful. As long as you try your best and you know that, you are successful.

Thank you for being my biggest fan. Ya, I have confidence, but without the support of you there is no way I would be the woman I am today. You believe in me way more than anyone else and you are always so proud of anything I do. Everything I do is to make you and my mom proud and without that support I don’t think I could handle all the stress I put on myself.

Thank you for teaching me to be kind. You are the sweetest and most gentle person I know, and although sometimes I can be a little sassy (which I say I get from my mom), you taught me to love. You taught me that if I don’t have anything nice to say, not to say it at all. You taught me that hurting someone’s feelings is worse than any kind of physical pain, and most importantly you taught me that being nice to people, even just a smile, can change someone’s whole day. You taught me to be selfless because of your selfless acts. After getting your kidney removed, you were still worried about us driving back home from the hospital.

Thank you for teaching me to be brave. Being courageous is difficult, but you make it seem so easy. You stand up for what you believe in and are never slow to defend your family or anyone you love for that matter. After getting your kidney removed, you are still continuing with chemotherapy even though the doctors say the cancer on your kidney is gone. That takes a lot of guts, and I am so proud that you are my grandma. You may be gentle, sweet, and kind, but you still kick butt.

Most importantly, thank you for being my best friend. When I go away to college, I am always looking for the next weekend I can come home to see you. Whenever I call, I can always count on you to answer the phone, “Hey sweetheart!” and I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for our movie nights and waking up and watching the hummingbirds outside of your window as the sun rises over the farm. I love talking about our family’s history and how we are going to paint the White House pink when I get elected president (because you truly believe that if I wanted to, I could be President of the United States).

You are the person I aspire to be. I would be so honored if one day I could be half the woman you are and until that day, that is what I will strive to be. You. I have heard that no one is perfect, but in my eyes you hold no flaws.