Just a short post today, dear Reader.  Sadness has filled the Yetter household; my husband’s dear Grandmother passed away this weekend.  Grandma Lillian, “Great Grandma” to my daughter, was the matriarch of my husband’s family and the glue that held everyone firmly together.  Widowed at a young age, Lillian was a strong woman who single-handedly raised five small children on her own through sheer will power and hard work.

I never found out exactly how old she was – that was a forbidden topic!  I loved how she would respond every time my husband asked her how she was feeling. “Terrible, just terrible!” she would say with a scowl…but she always had a twinkle in her eye.  When I first met Eric’s family, I was amazed how at every family function, if she wanted a drink, aunt Theresa would pull out a special bottle of water from her purse.  “Grandma has to have her holy water,” everyone would say to each other.  I could not understand why anyone would need to drink holy water!  I chalked it up to another one of those mysterious family superstitions they had, like “Don’t hand a knife to someone to cut the cake or you will end up having an argument later.  Lay it on the table for them to pick up.”  Finally I asked my husband why Grandma had to drink holy water.  Turns out, it was just another family joke; Grandma’s water was just boiled water that she drank to aid her frequently upset stomach!

I loved the special relationship my husband had with his grandma.  Of all the family members, he was the one who razzed her the most…and she loved it.  For every one of her birthdays, Eric would give her some crazy gift or card, just to see the reaction on her face when she opened it.  She fell for it every time!  One time, he gave her a gift bag which included various useless items: a can of baked beans, some pogs (remember those?), some loose rubber bands, and a few random things from around the house.  As this venerable old woman finished opening all of her other respectable gifts from the rest of the family, the look on her face was priceless when she opened Eric’s gift.  “What the hell is this?” she said, first with an incredulous look on her face…then breaking into laughter.  That was the way things were between Eric and his grandma.  He pushed the envelope with her beyond what everyone thought was appropriate, and she wouldn’t have him any other way.

She was a great lady who had a wonderful sense of humor and a real zest for life.  She will be sorely missed.