Today, My husband's, cousin's husband posted a remembrance of his grandmother. It quickly reminded me of my Grandma, Myrtle Lillian Harp, and how much she meant to me. I was absolutely honored when my Mom, Uncle Dennis, and Aunt Darlene asked me to give her eulogy for her funeral. She was 90 years young.
This is what I had to say on September 21st, 2007....
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| Grandma Harp with Conner, May 2007 |
Smiling faces make you happy and good news makes you feel better. ~Proverbs 15:30
When I was in the 3rd grade, I received my first bible. During the church sermon, I opened the bible up and this verse burst out to me. These words have been with me ever since and have become even more imprinted within my soul these past few weeks. I have heard of many people comment ton their fondest memory of Grandma... her smile. Smiling faces make you happy...
Often times when someone of such great importance in our life passes away, we think of what their legacy may be. I truly believe that Grandma's legacy starts with her smile. Each time she held one of us grand kids for the first time and then the great grandchildren the smile not only came from her lips, but from her eyes. Each time she watched a squirrel try to outsmart a bird feeder, she'd hate the squirrel but be laughing and smiling at how comical it was. Every picture I've seen with her and Grandpa, is highlighted with her smile.
Another part of her legacy, or at least, one of my favorites, was her great baking. She has the best banana bread, strawberry shortcake, Special K bars, strawberry jam and rolls. If you ask my Mom, she may to have include her fruitcake. I have tried to mimic her roll recipe and she definitely had a knack for those because each time I make them, they taste right, but they bottom out your stomach with a big "thunk".
Many of us know how much Grandma loves to eat and made darn sure that anyone and everyone sitting at her table never left hungry. I don't think anyone else can ever convince me to actually have thirds and possibly fourths when sitting down for dinner. One of my favorite memories of Grandma was her "run in" with Robin's friend, Dan, at my Mom's Christmas Dinner. As usual, Grandma wanted to make sure all had enough to eat. Dan turned to her and asked if she wanted anymore mashed potatoes. She respectfully declined as he quickly scooped up a big spoon of potatoes and placed them on her plate while telling her, "Here ya go Grandma!" She looked at him and smiled back with all she had and laughed as he teased her.
One of the last last pieces of her legacy was that she's a mea
n card player. If you had to have teams for a card game, she was the gal to have on your team. Unfortunately, she and my brother somehow ended up on the same team, a lot. Need I say, I'm not that great? I never understood how someone with even the smallest cards for a game of 500, could still manage to win. She knew her stuff.
Last evening, I was trying to come up with a way to express who Grandma was. I re-read a poem I wrote for my own Mom several years ago and it also fit Grandma perfectly. This isn't too surprising since there are so many similarities between my Mom and Grandma.
Phenomenal
Her eyes twinkle like stars.
Her smile shines like the sun.
Her laugh is infectious.
Her heart is immense.
Her love is everlasting.
Her soul is beautiful.
Her strength is enormous.
Her will is unstoppable.
Her passions are strong.
Her patience is boundless.
Her kindness embraces all.
Her calmness is comforting.
She is a Phenomenal Grandma.
Follow-up Note....
Something I will never forget about that day is when my cousin Ryan came up to me and asked how I was doing and if I was o.k. because he knew how much she meant to me. Thank you Ryan for your kindness.
Hard to believe Anniversary No. 4 has arrived! 
