Perspective

Our family traveled to Iowa (God's country...) this past week to say "goodbye" to Grandma Schoon. What a blessing to be part of her legacy; she was quite a woman.

There are so many things I remember about Grandma and visiting her and Grandpa, especially on the farm. In fact, I had a dream not that long ago about the farm that was so vivid, I could remember what it smelled like when you walked through the door. (The one where you could either go to the basement, or up into the kitchen.)

I remember helping her use the old wringer washer to do laundry; making dancing ladies out of hollyhocks; picking strawberries (more made it into my mouth than the bucket...); the old booth in the kitchen where the crystal hanging in the window would cast rainbows all over the wall, while she fried okra, canned pickles or made something equally wonderful. I remember Grandma sledding with us behind the barn, helping us hunt for kittens and taking walks down to the bridge over the creek.

But I think what I will remember most about Grandma is how she always put things into perspective for me. I remember the poem above the kitchen sink..."Thank God for dirty dishes..." That poem is now on the back cover of a cookbook that I helped publish for Jake's class at school. I remember it every time I wash dishes. Perspective.

I remember when I was engaged and Scott and I were 600 miles apart; Grandma gave me a hug and told me she knew how I felt...and then told me that she used to lay in the lawn at night, look up at the stars and cry because she didn't know if Grandpa would even come back after the war, how most of his letters were completely blacked out when she got them, if she got them at all, and how excited she was when THREE YEARS after they were engaged, he finally came home and they were married. Perspective.

I remember after she really started to lose her sight, when she told me that it would be easy for her to feel useless, but when she prayed, she knew she wasn't useless. She said she knew the power of prayer and as long as she was still breathing, she could still do that. Perspective.

I miss my grandma. But I know that she is in heaven, seeing fully and reunited with Grandpa. And that's the best perspective of all.