Since I started this blog after Riley was born, I have tried not to write about anything sad. I realize that this doesn't provide readers with an accurate view of life on the pond, but the reality is that you all come here to read about the happy and fun times of our family. I try to make you happy to have visited, not sad. Well, here is a dose of sad.
On June 19th our family lost its matriarch, Mavis Whittemore Crawford. Chris's grandmother was the only remaining grandparent between the two of us, also the only great-grandparent our kids ever knew. This was Grandma losing her mom, and as I learned back in 2004 when my Nana died, a girl losing her mom is hard no matter how old the girl is or how old her mom is. Grandma Crawford was 93.
So, on Thursday, the Crawford clan gathered at Yesteryear farm, and on Friday we celebrated Mavis with a memorial service. We shared memories while together at the house through Saturday, swam in the pool, relaxed in the hammock, and on the porch and just enjoyed being together. Riley stuck to her girl second cousins like glue and Caleb stuck to me mostly.
Grandma Crawford was a collector of stuff. I remember the first time I visited her house pausing in every room to just take it all in. There was so much to look at. I spent a lot of time looking at the collections in my two favorite windows - the red window and the purple window. These windows in the summer kitchen were filled with colored glass items which were either red or purple. The very first thing Grandma ever gave me was a purple glass candlestick from the purple window. Last week when I found myself staring at those windows again I found a red teacup. It reminded me of some of the red glass I have from my grandparents and I knew it could help me start a red collection of my own. Now I have something from each window.
Grandma Crawford really was a special lady. As stated during her memorial, she was interested in everyone and everything. In fact, when we told her during a visit that I was pregnant with Riley, she was too busy looking up the definition of milfoil (the invasive weed Chris checks boats for in the summer) to even make much note of our announcement until after she was finished with the dictionary. She taught Riley to ride around on a cane like it's a horse. Most meaningful to me, she welcomed my parents and brother to her house for Thanksgiving so we could all be together.
Thank you Grandma for being a light in the lives of so many. We love you and will miss you.
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| Devin, Caroline, and Laura playing dress up. |
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| Dress up at the water pump. |
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| Playing in a mud puddle. |
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| Dress up with hats for everyone included. |
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| First cousins with hats. |
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| Lots of Great-grandma's beads. So heavy! |
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| Hammock with the big girls. |
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| Swinging with Grandma put Caleb to sleep. |
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| Family photo |
