For Betty

Today is December 1st - for most people it's just the beginning of the winter holiday season. But for me, it's the second anniversary of my grandmother's death. The loss of a grandparent is always difficult, but losing Betty (I called her by her first name for the majority of my childhood) was especially hard for me. It's been two full years now, and yet I still wish I could call up to my grandparents' house and hear her voice say hello.

My grandmother was very important in my life. She and my grandfather helped raise me while my mother worked long hours to make ends meet. I have her middle name (Louise) and her bright blue eyes. She was a beautiful woman with a classy style - and a flair for bright colors. I like to think that I've acquired some of her fashion sense over the years. I learned to love baking because of watching her so much when I was young, and I developed a love of party planning and etiquette because of her passion for those things as well. She was an amazing woman that would do anything for you, and frankly, I just wouldn't be the woman I am today without her influence in my life.

I thought a good way to remember her today would be to look at some old photographs. Here's one of her holding me when I was just a few months old:

Ha, I was a cute baby, wasn't I? I used to sleep with grandma all the time:

Oh and don't think she was just some "typical" grandma - Betty was certainly a wild woman when she wanted to be:

One of the things I am most grateful for is that I was able to spend so much time with grandma:

I only hope that I will look as good as she did as I get older:

I miss you, Betty. Thank you for being the kind of person who is irreplaceable in my life.