Tuesday, December 29, 2015
My Favorite Memories of Granny - December 29, 2015
Posted: December 29, 2015 | Last Revised: December 29, 2015
The people we love never leave us. They stay with us in our memories. Whenever we remember a memory of a loved one it is their way of paying us a visit.
Virginia Geesen leaves many wonderful memories behind as both a mother and grandmother, or as we grandchildren called her, Granny.
As a grandmother, Granny helped me create a lot of memories as a child. She will live in my memories of the tea parties that we shared when she would meet me at the bus after school and of the walks we took with all the pets to the bridge that was down the road from our house. I will remember Granny when I find a piece of petrified wood or when I see somebody's rock garden or a rose bush. She kept a "treasure box" for me in a drawer in her kitchen. Granny knew that young children needed a special place to keep shiny rocks or stickers. Granny will be with me when I sit with my son, Hunter, and color or paint. She always had paints, markers, and paper ready for little hands to create their next masterpiece. When Hunter and I visit a park and sit in a swing, Granny will be with me there. One of my favorite memories during my early childhood was of her sitting with me in her lap on an old wooden swing that hung by the machine shed. She would sing to me while we swung back and forth. I always knew the time was almost up when she started singing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot." She will be with me during Hunter's bedtime while I sing to him as I tuck him in. During the times she watched me when Mom and Dad were away, Granny always sang lullabies to me after our bedtime prayers. "Tura Lura Lura" was a particular favorite of mine she would sing to Jill and me.
Granny will be in my memories of the holidays. I know she will be with me when I bake cinnamon rolls or yeast rolls for Thanksgiving and Christmas. She will be there when I teach Hunter to decorate Christmas cutout sugar cookies. Who could forget Saint Patrick's Day? Granny made that day extra fun because everything was green right down to the milk we drank. I will always make corned beef and cabbage and Irish soda bread on Saint Patrick's Day and know she will be there with me.
Granny was also my teacher. She started teaching me about baking bread when I was about 4. She gave me my own little breadboard and rolling pin. She would give me a little ball of dough to work with and would still bake it for me despite the fact that it contained bits of dirt and dog hair. She made sure the result never found its way to the table but I didn't know that until much later. During my 3rd year in 4-H baking, Granny furthered my training by helping me with my yeast bread unit. She taught me that working with the dough was not just about adding the amount of flour a recipe called for but also how the dough felt in my hands. If it felt right, don't add the rest of the flour. She also taught me the most important secret ingredient in my baking was love. "Always make everything with love, Annie, and it will turn out just right." It's true because that year we won Grand Champion at the Elbert County Fair and placed 5th at the Colorado State Fair.
Granny was my roommate for a short period of time while I was settling in at a new job shortly after graduating from veterinary technician school. I had to perform a patient treatment after dinner one night and Granny insisted on coming with me. She didn't want me venturing out after dark by myself. She walked with me into the building and then held the rabbit while I gave the medication it needed. In the middle of the treatment, the timer on the light in the ward ran out and the lights turned off. Granny stayed calm in the dark and stroked the rabbit while I blindly fumbled around and eventually got the lights back on. She definitely helped me play a role in saving that life as the rabbit was very sick and could not handle stress.
Granny was also my sponsor for my Catholic Confirmation. I still routinely wear the cross she gave me on that special day.
I also have to give Granny credit for being my matchmaker and helping me find my way back together with my husband, Patrick. She was the one who gave Patrick my number and encouraged me to call when he was searching for people he had known during college for his application to enter the United States Army. If it hadn't been for her I wouldn't be sharing my wonderful life with him, and she will be always be with us for every anniversary we share.
I know that wherever my life's adventures may take me I will always have Granny at my side because I have so many life lessons, blessings and special memories from her to hold onto and share or teach to my family. As long as I hold them safe within me and/or pass them on, Granny will always be there to guide me because she molded and shaped many of the facets of my heart "with love", and it turned out just right.
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