Boots

This weekend was truly, in every essence of the word, bitter-sweet.

We lost Grandma Piper last week (chris' mom's mother). As many better knew her, "boots".

I can't speak for any of the family as I am sure they all have many more fond memories of her, but i would like to share one of my favorite times spent with her:

For the past four years that I knew Boots, I knew her as a gem. Every Sunday, was Sunday Dinner at the Klare's. Bootsy would come along and have her highball and few appetizers before every meal. She would sit and listen to us crazy Klare's talk and gab and many times get into our infamous "heated" discussions, in the fun loving way we always do. Jerry ( my father-in-law) loved to tease her. He would tease her and rattle her up, and you would hear grandma say, "OH JERRY!" She loved every ounce of the teasing. Dinner was always pass the meat, the bread and condiments and hold the green veggies. To Boots that was YACK! After dinner - especially on the back porch, Jerr would play some old music and Grandma would tap her feet and wave her hand. In many cases of the really good songs, she would sing along and even do a little dance with her hands... Linda (my mother-in-law) would bring out desert and we would all sit there talking and loving her company. And of course she would ask for the time over and over again, so she wouldn't be late getting home. But she was always willing to stay a little longer for one more bite of something sweet.

But this summer was a turn for Boots. After her fall, she just didn't regain herself like she used to be. Don't get me wrong, she still had SPUNK. But the spunk was fading as she longed for "home". Home was with her husband, Bud - Grandpa Piper. Grandpa Piper passed 10 years prior and to what I hear, he was every bit similar to Chris-minus the random quick temper ;)

I envision my life to be the same if I ever lost my husband. Just waiting for God to call my number and to reunite me with him. She waited patiently for the most part; and in some cases, she would tell us that she was darn out mad about it taking so long. :) that's her - that's her spunk! :)

But the timing was right. She got to see her the first grandchild Malia, get married. Which, really meant the world to Malia. She got to hold her great-grandchild. Most importantly she got to see all her children and they got to tell her they loved her and she them. And then, when it was perfect in His timing He wrapped her in His love and brought her home. She is now united with her love, Bud. She is now playing cards and dipping her pretzels in her bourbon cokes with her family. She is also now soaking up the little hugs from her two first great grandchildren Hope and Grace. And I am sure they are all up there tapping their toes and doing that "hand dance" that she always did.

Boots will be sorrowfully missed and though she is no longer physically here, she is an irreplaceable part of our family. I will miss her terribly as she started off as "boots" to me and then she became my grandma.

For all of her children and all of her grandchildren take comfort that heaven is a place full of those she has been longing to be with and she will always be longing to be with you again.

And especially to my mother-in-law... Thank you for all you have done for Grandma. Words can not express.