Had Any Chocolate Lately?

I don't know about you, but I simply adore chocolate. It's one of those things I hope they have in heaven or I'm not going. :) Seriously though, eating chocolate, at least for me, is kind of like taking a day off like Memorial Day. It's a day when I not only get to eat some of my favorite foods, but I get to think about those who have gone before me and what they've contributed to my life.

 

My Grandma Ranck was a great cook, and while I could also say I'm a great cook because of her, I'm not. What I learned from my grandmother was that she was generous when it came to her time. And when I stayed at her house I felt just like a princess.

Sure, I was spoiled rotten, but I was also listened to and accepted for the child I was; not altogether sure of myself, and shy as the day was long. Still, she was my grand example of assurity and graciousness. She could see in me things I wasn't yet ready to see or believe I had within myself. And perhaps all grandmothers are like that. If they're not, they should be.

It took me a few years, but after I began writing, my grandmother took it seriously even before I was really any good. She read everything I'd written, kept all the gifts of writing I'd given her; I knew this because years later my mother handed me a folder. In it were all of the gifts of writing I had given her. These gifts were a bit like chocolate. Okay, they were better than chocolate. I felt as if I could swim in their love forever and only get fat knowing that she loved me no matter where I was at in life.

I hope all grandmother's are like that.