Bessie

Bessie was my maternal grandmother.  She and I were very close.  She was probably just as close to my three brothers and to my cousins, but that did not matter. She was close to me. 
She had a way of making the simplest things so much fun.  My brothers did not know it, (so don't tell them)  but when I spent the night with her, she would pull me around the wooden floor on a blanket.  Now mind you, she was not a big woman at all, but she was a grandma and grandmas are super women to their grandchildren.  They are geniuses and storytellers and artists and magicians.....and spoilers. 
One of my favorite memories occurred at breakfast.  She would serve it to me on a tray while I was still in bed.  On the tray would be a piece of toast, sausage, chocolate milk, and - wait for it - a bowl of ice cream.  My grandfather's contribution was a note, a quarter, and a pack of Juicy Fruit chewing gum.  Now that speaks love. This ritual took place each and every time I spent the night.  Bedtime memories were just as special.  Stories from Highlight magazines, Pond's cold cream, and reading her Bible brought a comforting reminder that some things don't change...and that consistency is a blessing. 
Grandma taught me about flowers....begonias, sweetheart roses, canna lilies, plumbago, coleus, and zinnias.  I learned how to water the garden in the heat of the day by placing the hose at the base of the flower, without getting the petals wet - lest they turn brown from the sun.
She also taught me how to like ironing....yes, I know....and no, she did not hypnotize me.  She said she prayed for everyone whose clothes she  was pressing. That perspective changes any task....so when I wash dishes, fold laundry, pick up after Tommy, etc., I try to pray for the mess maker, instead of becoming exasperated with him/her/them.  (I am not always successful at it, but I get better with practice.)
She PATIENTLY taught me how to draw, sew, - she made ALL of my clothes, even my pjs! - and ride downtown on a city bus.  They did not own a car, and the bus stop was about a half a mile away.  The trip to the stop was never too long, because we were going downtown - to their bank - and then to eat at the L&C cafeteria, or One's A Meal, or the drugstore.   We shopped at Kress's, Newberry's, and Foley's....none of which are still there.  As we got off the bus and made our way home, I would get so tired and begin to complain.  She would say with every other step, "We are one step closer to grandma's house" and before long we were there.
She was dependent on others for rides to church every Sunday and Wednesday.   Thank you to Mrs. Jarvis, the Moores, and the Wyatts for all of those times you picked her up.  She took taxis to the doctor's office (she had emphysema), and she called in her grocery list and the local store delivered.  Simple times. 

She was a living example of Christianity to me.  She showed me Christ as she put actions to her faith.  And she was content.  Her world was small...reaching back home to Missouri where her sister Pearl lived - by writing weekly letters through "snail mail".   (BTW - There is nothing like receiving a real handwritten letter in the mail.  Tell me that isn't exciting.)  Missouri was about as far away as she traveled and that was rare...and on a bus or train. 

Lives are often measured by the legacies they leave behind.  My grandma's teaching will be an influence for years to come...as I share it with family, friends, and you.  She is the reason I do so much of what I do.

She was Bessie Maeonia Brown Hamilton....  I just pray that I can be that kind of "grammy" to my own grandchildren...that they will see Jesus in me and that I will be faithful to Him and content right where I am with my backyard of begonias, blue plumbago, coleus, and cannes lilies.