Dear Grandma,

Oh where to begin? I guess I’ll get straight to the point and say: Thank you.

Thank you for always being there. For the first several years of my life, I remember calling two incredible women ‘Mom.’ You brought me to the zoo, made me pancakes and grilled cheese just the way I like it and never said no to a game of Candyland. You attended every basketball, soccer, volleyball, softball, and cheerleading event you could (although I’m starting to think my tournament in Vegas was just an excuse for you to hit the casinos and shows). I look back on my childhood fondly and in many memories, you are a constant factor that shaped into the person I am today.

Thank you for teaching me to think creatively. Remember that awful after-school pick up system? When we were young, Karisa and I could never seem to find you in the multicolored line of cars. One day, we spotted red bandana tied to a yardstick waving in the air. The yardstick was emerging from the window of a purple Toyota van and in an instant, we knew it was you (and that there were caramel candies waiting for us in the back seat). Today, you may not be able to see as well as you used to you, but you constantly amaze me with the inventive mechanisms you create to accomplish tasks in the dark. You see problems as challenges, then as opportunities. Because of you, I know nothing is truly impossible as long as I stay open minded.

Thank you for teaching me how to be a strong individual. I’ve always been inspired by your past initiative to study and become a certified nurse, at a time when it wasn’t entirely conventional for a woman to do so. I love hearing about your railroad adventures when you traveled by train throughout the country to help others. Though you wore a white uniform back then, now you remind me to wear bright colors and not to be afraid of standing out. You’ve shown me confidence is key and with that, I have the power to make something of myself while positively contributing to the world.

Thank you for teaching me to never stop learning. I can still picture the orange and yellow flower bouquets you brought home from an art class you took at the community college. Just because you retired didn’t mean you stopped looking at every day with a curious eye, valuing the fundamentals of finance just as much as brushstrokes in watercolor painting. I’m sure my diverse set of interests and endless thirst for knowledge stems from our various outings to museums, theater shows, and the everyday conversations we have about the world.

Thank you for teaching me to see humor everywhere. It’s undeniable your witty Christmas letters are the event of the season; and when we’re not reading your comical retelling of the year, we’re laughing at your Angelina Jolie impression (remember when your lips got really sunburnt?). Life is undoubtedly filled with up and downs, but you’ve taught me rethink the downs with a little bit of fun.

Thank you for teaching me to recognize and empathize with others’ perspectives. From a young age, you showed me what it means to listen instead of judge. I grew up watching a woman who was proud but humble, stern but kind, and frugal but generous.

I could go on and on about the things I have learned from you, Grandma. But what I’ll never quite be able to articulate is how appreciative I am of you. I can only hope that one day, someone will look up to me the way I look up to you.

Thank you again, Grandma. For everything.

Love,

Mallory