"Grandmothers are voices of the past and role models of the present."
My Mamaw Travis (my dad's mom) passed away on January 18th. I have been trying to write this post for months but my heart just wasn't ready. Losing someone you love is one of the hardest things you'll ever face in life and I learned this from the woman I lost 5 months ago. My grandmother lost a 19-year old son serving in the Vietnam War and her husband to a heart attack 23 years before God called her home.
She taught me so much about God, love and life through example.
She was wise, strong, selfless, genuine and loving.
She continues to be one of the greatest role models in my life. I will never forgot the conversations I had with her about life, marriage and love.
She was honest and passed down the legacy of working towards being a "good" person.
My dad spoke at her funeral and it broke my heart to see him so upset; but the words he spoke about her were sincere and genuine. His parents taught him how to work towards being a "good" person, living a Christian life and striving for the good of others and not yourself. The pastor who was with my family the night of her visitation said something that really stuck out to me. He said that her and my grandfather may not have given their children everything they wanted but they gave them everything they needed. I feel as though my parents have lived by this principle as well and the older I get the more I appreciate it. Although we all knew she was ready and had been battling intensive multiple health issues over the last year; it just doesn't truly hit you until you're sitting in the funeral home. I feel like it has "hit me" quite a lot. I think about her often and the struggle of deteriorating health I watched her face. I think about how she slowly lost her independence, strong will and determination. I think about how she would be telling me "don't give up" in the difficult situations I have faced. I think about the hamburgers she used to make, the Neapolitan ice cream she had in her freezer, the orange slices she kept on the cabinet, the times she picked me up from school in her "hoopty", the time she accidentally died her hair purple, the way she grew to love our family pets even though she wasn't an "animal person", the multiple times my family stayed with her for weeks or months when my parents were building or remodeling a house and so much more...
I love you to the moon and back Mamaw Travis! Rest in Peace!
