30. A picture of someone you miss.
I miss my Granny. She passed away in May 2010. We weren't incredibly close, but we saw each other and talked to each other and knew the things going on in each others' lives. I got to know her and my Poppa better when I spent a summer interning at the Sapulpa Historical Society's Museum with my Poppa--it was then that she learned of my abiding love of Oreos and ALWAYS had some there for me when she knew I would be there, even if it meant that sometimes the Oreos were a little bit stale. They tasted just as good to me :-)
She was a sassy lady who spoke her mind (she was reported to have had the first bikini in Sapulpa!), but always made sure that you knew she loved you. I can still hear the way she would said my name, which was so incredibly distinctive. She was everyone's Granny. I'm pretty sure I still have every Disney movie video she gave me as a kid, too. After she passed, she was described as our family's "glue," and that was probably the best word to describe her. She made sure everyone knew what was going on in each other's lives. She was a matriarchal figure, it seems to me even to our extended family. And she loved her family fiercely.
Even as an older woman, she used email daily as a way to keep in touch, not only with us but with her classmates. In fact, about a month ago, one of her classmates came into the History Center. It was a man I had never met, but he had the front desk call up to my office to meet me. He had seen Poppa last fall, after Granny had passed away, and knew that I still worked here and that I'd gotten married and my name had changed. I made my way to the galleries to meet with this gentleman and his wife, and the other couple that was visiting with them. He even knew about my time on Jeopardy, which Granny would have told him about years ago. I had a lovely chat with them and smiled my way back to my office, thinking of how awesome my Granny was.
And then I realized how much I miss the Glue.
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