A DAY TO REMEMBER

100 years ago on this day, my grandma was born. She made it to 97. She was a healthy 97 years old woman with lots of wisdom and a crystal clear mind. Today, I think about her and miss her.
My grandma Maire has guided me her whole life, and continues to do so in my daily life. We should never underestimate the words and wisdoms we teach our young children. Since I was a little child, she always told me that the most important things in life are "your health and your friends". I heard that all through my childhood, and it still is guiding wisdom in my life to day.
I loved hanging out at my grandma's house. She made the best meatballs in the world. Every time I went home to Sweden from the US, I made sure that I got to spend time with her. We chatted and drank coffee, and I always left those conversations with a filled heart. They were not about the day-to-day things in life. They were the conversations that stick with you about what life truly means, and what is important in life. I always got new perspectives.
My grandma didn't have an easy life. She had many sorrows throughout her life, but they never made her heart too heavy to stop laughing. I loved her laugh, and her tears coming down her cheeks as she was laughing really hard. To her last days, she read the newspaper every day, and read books her whole life. She stayed on top of what was going on, and often challenged me about the US and the American politics.
She loved the movies. She loved George Clooney and Richard Gere, but felt that Sean Connery was more appropriate to like for her age :-
She was a fine woman who raised four children in Finland, and later in Sweden. She then raised my two cousins by herself starting around age 70. She was the oldest woman in Sweden to get custody of two children, but due to her vitality and health, my cousins got to stay within the family.
I loved that she was never running out of ice cream. I loved that she was truly playing with me as a kid. She got down on her knees, and played with me. She took me swimming, she took me to the park. As I grow older, we talked and talked. We talked as two friends do about anything and everything. She was never afraid to open up her heart, and share her thoughts.
I loved spending Christmas at her house. All the food she made in the month of December. She put little sticky notes on the food she prepared that said "Don't touch" in English, so we kids knew we couldn't eat it until Christmas Eve. I loved the music, the songs, and the games we played. I loved that she never forgot to wave from her kitchen window when we left her house.
At the same time as I have tears in my eyes thinking about her today, I feel so extremely lucky to have had her in my life. She was that one of a kind woman that will stay with me forever, and I am hoping I can live up to her life expectations just a little bit.
To my grandma with love,
Maria.