Today is my mom's mom's birthday. She passed away a few years ago and would be 87 years old today. Nada Packer Smith was a wonderful grandma. She was the quintessential grandmother, plus more! She was soft spoken. Sweet. Kind. Funny. Beautiful. She was a faithful member of the church. She loved to garden and always had beautiful flowers in her front yard. My favorites were always the amaryllis flowers she grew. At some point in time she gave my family one of her amaryllis bulbs. It has always been a treat to go home in the spring to see them bloom and they always remind me of her.
I loved going to grandma's. When I was younger I would sleepover and she would make popcorn while we watched a movie that was on TV. In the morning I would wake up early and she would dish up the cracked wheat that she had put in the crock pot the night before, and then I would watch Smurfs. Sometimes she would walk me across the street to get an ice cream cone at Thrifty. I'd always get strawberry and she would get cherry chip.
One of the fondest memories that I have of her was when my family went to visit her in Pinetop, AZ not long before she passed away. When we got there she was asleep in bed, but we went in to say hi to her and visit. She couldn't talk much and didn't have enough strength to sit up. After a little while my cousin Camette and I were starving so we wanted to make a run to Taco Bell. Knowing Taco Bell was one of Nada's favorite places we went into her room and asked her if she wanted anything. She quietly responded, "Oh yes! I would love a galupa!" (That was her name for the Chalupa...haha!) So Camette and I went and got our food and her "galupa." When we got back she was in the family room sitting in her wheel chair all ready to eat! It was such a sight to see since earlier she didn't even have much energy to talk to us. But she sat and ate Taco Bell with us. I will never forget that!
Happy Birthday, Grandma! I love you and miss you!
1 comment:
Sweet, sweet words!
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