Grandma Bev Peterson...

I hate that I don't have a digitalized picture of Mike's grandma to post with this entry, I've always just had them printed. Mike's mom's mom died three weeks ago yesterday. She had been not as well, health-wise, as she has been in the past, though the warmth of her eyes and smile never faded. Her services were two weeks ago, a time of gathering of family from California, Iowa, Wisconsin, and all over the Twin Cities.

The funeral itself was sad, yes, but such a celebration of her life. It was held at the church she had attended for many years, the church Mike and I were married in, and her pastor knew and loved Grandma Peterson and spoke so well of her. Many of the grandkids were involved in the service.

At one point in the service, time was given to family members who shared memories of time spent with Grandma Peterson. As most of you know, I can't speak in public to begin with, let alone during such an emotional time, being the emotional sap that I am, but if I could have, or better yet now that I can, this is what I would share: in 1997, when Mike and I had not even been dating a year, we somehow managed to get in on each other's family Christmases. In the Schroeder household, they celebrate with the Petersons on Christmas Eve and the Schroeders on Christmas Day. I had met all the extended family at this point, probably on more than one occasion, in that they all lived so near. I sat sort of awkwardly by during the gift exchanging, not known well enough yet, not having spent enough time to really have proved myself as a girlfriend. All of a sudden a small box was passed my way. "To Megan, from Grandma Peterson" written on the tag. Inside was a small frame with a cherub on it. I looked up to find Mike's grandma, probably tried to catch her eye, smiled politely or embarrassed, and I think I did hug her at least once. Mike later shared with me that his Grandma did not have a tremendous amount of money to be spending, she did not give lavish gifts, and the gifts she did give were frugle and small. He too had been surprised that she would have given me, just the recent girlfriend, a gift that first Christmas.

But that was so Grandma Peterson. She accepted you unassumingly and graciously. She made you feel welcome, even if it wasn't assured that you would be there in a few months. She was a truly godly woman, loving everyone that came into her path with such gentle persistence. Even when it might not have been yet appropriate, she gave me a gift. I might be so bratty as to say that maybe she knew something about me and Mike that even we didn't know at that time, but that would be stretching. I think she just knew how to love, how to welcome, how to make everyone feel like part of that family in the most appropriate way. I will always be so grateful, so thankful for Grandma Peterson because she was the first of Mike's extremely loving and generous family to make me feel like one of the crew. This is just one of so many great memories that Mike and I will take with us when we think of Grandma Peterson, and maybe I choose to share this one because it's my first poignant one with her. That small frame, such an unassuming gift, will always be special to me.

We'll miss you, Grandma Peterson, but we'll see you soon...