Grandma Bucklin

Last week we lost my last living grandparent, she had turned 92 in October.  I'm pretty certain if she did not have a stroke 5 years ago she would have been one of those ladies that lived until like 118!  

Even though I did not see my grandma often enough, I have many fond memories of the things she did and the way she was. 

I recently read this quote:  “Someone else is happy with less than you have” – that someone else would be my Grandma Bucklin. 

Grandma grew up with very little and worked so hard for the most of her life.  Many of those years were dedicated to Maytag, where she was very proud of the work she completed.  Grandma was wise with her pennies, spending very little on herself and stretching each penny in little ways like only using 1 light bulb in a fixture that called for 2 or 3. 

Grandma was good with numbers.  She always remembered our birthdays and had them announced on the radio.  When we were little she would make us our very own mini birthday cake.  She has given me over 30 birthday cards, each would have included $10, along with a reminder note to renew my drivers license.  It was always funny getting this reminder from grandma as she never had a driver’s license of her own to worry about renewing. 

Since she did not drive, she walked everywhere!  She walked miles to school as a child, walked to work, walked to the store for groceries and was still walking 2 miles a day in her late 80’s.  She would even pass up rides on cold days.

Grandma enjoyed the company of friends and family.  She shared many beautiful stories and quite possibly knew the family tree of each person she knew.  She was a regular visitor at the senior citizens and loved playing BINGO, and if I recall right, I think she was pretty darn good at BINGO.

Grandma loved to travel and traveled the world after she retired.  I still remember the wooden dolls she brought us from Russia. 

Grandma was a strong woman.  She lived through cancer, she lived through a major stroke and to my surprise, I recently learned she had tuberculosis, which caused her to be hospitalized for nearly two years and to lose a lung.  Of course all of this may come to a surprise to some of you since I am certain she never complained about any of these things.  My grandma was in no way a complainer, she accepted what she had and kept on smiling!  Over the past couple years, one thing that grandma would consistently tell each of us is how she was the last of her siblings left and she had lived longer than each of them, even with life’s challenges, she stayed strong.

Grandma was a collector, she had a beautiful collection of angels.  Each time I see an angel, I will certainly be thinking of my Grandma Bucklin, the wonderful person she was, the modest life she lived, her kind heart and the beautiful smile she wore EVERY DAY.  Even her last day. 

Bye now.