In Loving Memory
of Grandma Hatt
How can you
possibly write out all your feelings and memories toward a grandmother who has
shared your life for over thirty years?
I guess you can’t. Sitting in the
kitchen today at mom’s house we all discussed what fond memories we have of
Grandma. Probably the fondest and most
memorable ones are from when we were kids, as we seemed to spend more time with
Grandma back then. Grandma was after all,
the only one mom and dad would trust to look after their girls when they went
out on evenings or away on trips. I
think that says a lot for how good of a caregiver she really was & how much
she loved us and loved spending time with us.
Some of the great memories from these babysitting times would be her
cautious driving (right turns only!) while we were in her car, McDonald’s
dinners on our way to/from gymnastics (as if she didn’t see through our
assurances that this was standard fair for us with mom and dad!), watching
Dallas and Loveboat with her, her special after
school snacks she would prepare for us, & her different desserts she would
make us (you know, different from mom’s).
I suppose she, like so many before and after, just wanted to make her
grandkids happy and perhaps spoil them a bit while she could.
Of course we have
other great memories we share of our time spent with Grandma that include mom
and dad – like trips up to the Bruce to visit Grandma Shaw and family
gatherings at her house on Montye Ave. With its distinctive smell, and that
fabulously interesting basement that we spent hours playing in, Grandma’s house
holds many memories for us all. Those
red dutch shoes were worn by
all Grandma’s grandkids and now they reside in Shelly’s daughters room where
she will very soon get to also enjoy!
Grandma loved to drink tea and loved having us over for tea &
cookies where we could scoop in as much sugar into our teas as we wanted and
wait for the birdie in the coo-coo clock to come out. When we got older Grandma’s role in our lives
changed. She lent all of us her car
whenever we required it – in fact lending it to Andrea & Shelly on separate
occasions for weeks/months at a time. I
believe she would have done anything for us.
I have a fond memory of dancing with Grandma at Shari & Terry’s wedding, she was so shy it was quite a feat to get her out
on that dance floor. She was so proud of
all her grandchildren, and loved getting pictures of us to display in her
house. She also loved to get updates on
what all her grandchildren were doing in their lives. She was one of the kindest and most gentle
people I have ever known.
As a person grows
older and becomes weak and ill, it is hard to adjust to a different type of
relationship that ensues. Shifting from
recipients of her care, to providers of her care, well being and life
enrichment was difficult to say the least for everyone in Grandma’s life. We all took comfort in knowing that our
visits brightened her days and gave her new faces to look upon or stories to
listen to. She especially seemed to
enjoy seeing her great grandkids as so often people do love to see little kids
running around, their innocence and happiness is such a breath of fresh air for
adults, probably more so for seniors. We
know her last few months must have been difficult for her to endure, as they
were for us too.
She will be missed
by us all so much but we are comforted in knowing that she is in a better place
now.
With love always,
Lisa, Andrea &
Shelly