Today I wish a very happy 75th birthday to my amazingly talented, smart, beautiful grandma. Many people learn how to crochet or bake bread from their grandmothers -- these are both on my "lessons learned from grandma" list, but the list goes so much beyond that.
{angie} Today I wish a very happy 75th birthday to my amazingly talented, smart, beautiful grandma. Many people learn how to crochet or bake bread from their grandmothers -- these are both on my "lessons learned from grandma" list, but the list goes so much beyond that. My grandma was born in Chicago on May 1, 1936, just 16 years after women were granted the right to vote. Like many women of her day, she got married young to her high school sweetheart, my handsome grandpa. The next few years of her life she would be the quintessential woman of the 1950s. She was a homemaker and had three children -- Susie (my mom), Jimmy and Billy. But my grandma wouldn't settle for average. She went back to school with three children in tow and got a bachelor's in nursing followed by a master's degree. Many women of the time were forced to take on a masculine persona if they wanted to get ahead, but she stayed true to herself and showed she could own her feminine personality while not sacrificing any bit of strength. At 59, she got her nurse practitioner's degree and started up her own successful private practice. What inspires me most is not all the degrees and certificates that hang on her wall of accomplishments, but that she was able to make the most of each of these opportunities while also filling her life with her dearest passions. Her family and friends always remained number one and she loves us all with every fiber of her being. She continues to travel the world (I can only hope to visit as many countries as she has in her lifetime) and embrace cultures of all different origins. My grandma has a witty sense of humor, loves to dance, sing, shop, play dress up and will jump at playing hostess at any given opportunity. Through her, I have learned a sense of generosity and caring that comes not from any expectation of something in return, but from her big heart. As her oldest granddaughter, I have inherited her legacy of feminine strength everyday through the values she exemplifies and has instilled her only daughter, my mother. I like to think I am a lot like her as I strive to live my life with both ambition and a deep passion for life. Here's to my ever-inspiring grandma, who at 75 doesn't look at day over 29. :) I love you grandma!
1 Comment
Cherie Bunk
5/2/2011 07:53:41 am
Angie,
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in·spi·ra·tionin·spi·ra·tion (ĭn'spə-rā'shən) n. Stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity.
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