Today would have been my maternal grandmother’s 107th birthday! We were incredibly close, and I have countless memories of reading books with her, listening to her childhood stories, and being amazed at her gorgeous handwriting – all experiences that helped cultivate my love of reading and writing.

She also encouraged my imagination! She was always willing to have a tea party with me or be a passenger on the “plane” as I pretended to be a pilot. Once, when I wanted to open a restaurant in her kitchen, I asked for help creating the menu. 

“How do you spell it?” I asked. 

“M-E-N…” she started. 

“M-E-N…” I repeated. 

“U!” she said. 

I proudly showed her my MenYou.

She died in 2011, and I wrote about it on my blog at the time:

After rapidly declining for the past month, my grandmother passed away yesterday morning while her husband slept in the next room. Just two hours later, my grandfather died in his sleep. He never woke up; he was never told that his wife was gone, but I think he knew.

They would have been married sixty-eight years this June. Sixty-eight years. I can’t even imagine living 68 years, much less living with someone else for that long.

A few years ago, I interviewed them for a sociology paper on marriage and family; they said some mornings they wake up and just have to embrace before sharing breakfast. Last Monday, a week before they died, my grandfather steered his wheelchair in to my grandmother’s room and they held hands across the hospital bed rails, as they had been doing nightly for some time.

I can’t imagine that degree of devotion and dedication. Long marriages run in my family, with my paternal grandparents lasting 58 years before death did they part, my maternal grandparents almost 68, and my parents just celebrated 36. It’s inspiring (…and a little intimidating).

I’m incredibly thankful that both grandparents had such long, amazing lives before leaving together, and that I got to spend 25 years with them.

I think of her often, especially on her birthday. So, I’m excited to announce: today I’m launching my writing services: Lightning Flash Writing!

It may seem random to do that on my grandmother’s birthday, but she always encouraged me in everything I did, and I like to think she’d be proud of me for following my creative pursuits like she did.