Thank you for showing me that it’s okay for a woman to be stubborn and firm in her beliefs. Thank you for showing me that it’s okay for a woman to speak her mind. We aren’t all meant to sit still and look pretty. It’s okay if we have a voice.

Thank you for showing me that academics are extremely important. You always pushed me to better myself, and you showed me that it’s okay for a girl to have her nose in a book.

Thank you for teaching me that it’s okay for a girl to live her life before she settles down and has a family. There’s so much of this world to see and there’s experiences to be had, so someone needs to live them.

Thank you for raising three strong men. One of which I am lucky to call my father. Thank you for raising him to be the leader of our house and my biggest supporter. Thank you for raising him to be a strong man and hard worker. I thank God every day for being able to call him my dad.

Thank you for teaching me that when obstacles show up in life, that you fight them with all you have. You never let anything overcome you. You’re the strongest woman I have ever met.

Thank you for showing me that girls can work hard and be independent. Thank you for showing me that the day starts before the sun is up and coffee is a necessity.

Thank you for all of our long talks. I won’t ever forget them. One of my favorite things was to sit and listen to your life experiences because you lived life to the fullest. I am still convinced to this day that you are a superhero; I just couldn’t ever find your cape.

Thank you for watching me run on hay bales until the sun went down and for laughing every time I fell.

Thank you for letting me play your organ and for telling me that it sounded great even though it didn’t. I can still see you cringing at the sound of me “music.”

Thank you for always keeping a closet stocked full of toys and for never getting mad at me for making a huge mess.

Thank you for driving the dirt roads at 65+ miles per hour. We definitely have a lot of laughs that come from those stories.

Thank you for letting me eat your chocolate chip cookies and drink Pepsi until I got a stomach ache. Those chocolate chip cookies were the absolute best. If only I could have just one more.

Thank you for being the best secret keeper in the world. There are still things that my mom and dad don’t know about. Maybe I’ll tell them one day. But what happens at grandma’s stays at grandma’s, right?

Thank you for loving me. Thank you for telling me the truth even if it wasn’t what I wanted to hear. Thank you for showing me what it truly means to live a full life.

Even though you are no longer on this earth, I will carry you with me wherever I go. I know you are watching over all of us. I got your stubbornness and big feet. I can’t help but smile every time I see a piece of you in me. You impacted every life you encountered. You will be greatly missed. Thank you for being my grandma. God knew that I would need a strong woman like you to look up to, and I am so beyond thankful it was you. I love you, forever and always.