Over April break, the whole family took a road trip to Pittsburgh to celebrate my Grandma’s 90th birthday. Some of you reading this have probably met my Grandma Jane, but if you haven’t, let me tell you a little bit about her.
My grandma is one of the strongest people I have met and I don’t say that lightly. A child of the Depression Era (she was born in 1929), life wasn’t always easy. She was widowed at the age of 40 with three kids to care for as a single parent. She went back to school to get a degree and work as a pre-school teacher to support the family and send all three of her kids to college.
When my uncle (who later passed away) was widowed at a young age and raising a
My grandma faced all of these challenges head-on and always looked for the positive, as she still does. Family is everything to her and many of us could learn from that. If you visit the small house she has lived in for 65+ years, you will be hard-pressed to find a space that isn’t filled with pictures of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. We are everywhere!
At her recent birthday celebration, she spoke to the group of assembled family. She said that every day she wakes up, she is so thankful for her family. She looks around at her pictures and feels blessed. If only she knew how many thousands of times over WE are blessed by her presence in our lives. She has given SO much more than she has ever received and she does it daily with grace and love. I’m so lucky that she’s been a part of my life for the last 42 years and I hope I have many more!
The boys are always excited when they get to go down and visit Great Grandma Jane and this trip was no exception! It was even more fun because their cousins from California were staying in the hotel room right next to us. 🙂 We got to spend four days together with family, celebrating a monumental birthday, swimming in the pool, riding in burlap sacks down the slides at the Spring House and visiting the National Aviary.
It was such a fun trip and we were all sad when it was time to leave, but I am already looking forward to another trip back and hoping that my Grandma Jane will come up and visit in June!
Aunt Jane is amazing. In a GOOD way, this makes me miss my Grandma Genevieve. She and Aunt Jane were sisters in-law, but much more like sisters. They were both widowed around the same age, went to school while raising their children, all while working full time. I’m sending love to all of you, from my husband SSGT Chris, my daughter Genevieve and myself Shannon Henry. Thank you for this, Cuz! 🤗
They were a dynamic duo! ❤️❤️❤️