Growing up, I was lucky enough to have three grandmothers. Baba was my mom's mom and lived just a mile from us. Grandma was my dad's step-mom. For the first few years of my life, she lived a few miles away then they moved to Washington. Grandma Charlotte was my dad's birth-mom who I didn't meet until I was nine or ten. She lived in Washington too.
Shortly after my 11th birthday, Grandma Charlotte died. I remember being sad because I barely knew her but my dad always said that I had her eyes.
A few months later, Grandma died. She was scared and depressed and took her own life. I was stunned. So stunned that I couldn't even cry. It just didn't make sense to me that my sweet, loving Grandma would do that to herself.
When I was 19, Baba died. I was with her when she lost consciousness though she officially died a few hours later at the hospital. When the nurses took us to her, I threw myself across her stomach and sobbed. I'm crying now just thinking about it.
I've often begrudged friends who are lucky enough to still have their grandmothers. How lucky they are to be in their adult years and still have a grandma! I've also often wondered why God transplanted my grandmothers out of my life. And more often than not felt sorry for myself.
But today, I realized how richly blessed I am. Yes, I have three grandmothers who have left this world. However, I have eight "new" grandmothers.
It took selling Avon for me to acquire these new grandmothers. I see them every other week. I sit at their kitchen tables and listen to their stories. They give me recipes and share advice. I ask for cooking tips and sewing pointers. They know my children and husband by name, though few of them have actually met Scott, Adam or Gracey. Often enough they send me on my way with homemade goodies, flowers from their garden or some other little treasure. Some call me honey, others call me Kris, one doesn't always remember my name at all. I've laughed with all of them and cried with some of them. We solve the world's problems and we giggle at our mistakes. A few tell me they love me, but they all make me feel loved.
So though these "Avon Grandmas" will never replace my real grandmothers, they are terrific surrogates and I am forever grateful to have them.
