I am Yvonne’s granddaughter.
Nine years ago today,my grandma died. She had been sick for a really long time, and she simply got tired, and she left this world. I used to be not okay with that, but I realized that she did what she had to.
But this thread is not about that. A few years after she died, I focused on her death, and it was painful. Then, as those who’ve lost someone already know, I chose to focus on her life, that she LIVED. She had an amazing life.
She grew up in a small town,surrounded by family, friends, and the animals that she always loved. She fell in love, got married, had four very interesting children(including my mother),went through patches, got divorced, fell in with a bad crowd, went to jail, got out, changed her life, fell in love again, moved to California,and a load of other things that I could tell you.
She was smart, she loved sports(so much so that she made me play football), she was funny, she was bold, and lived every day to the fullest.
There are alot of bad things about her as well, but I choose not to dwell on those things. I choose to dwell on things like how she taught me to skate after my mother couldn’t. How she let a spider live in her kitchen, and would have a fit if anyone tried to kill it. How she got kicked out of my football game for yelling and trying to fight a referee(see where I get my thirst for fighting? 
). How she always said that she loved me “a big heap whole lot”. How she always encouraged me to live boldly, even as I grew up and went through the things I went through.
Don’t get me wrong; I miss her. I miss that she doesn’t know who I’ve grown up to be. I miss that she will never know the man I will marry, or get to hold any of my babies.
But today, I’m not going to think about that. I’m going to think about how this amazing woman came to be my grandmother, and I am a better person for having her in my world, even for the little time I did.
I like to think that she’s in heaven, watching me, rolling her eyes at my mother, and bossing people around.
So, I’m thankful that I got to be her granddaughter, that I got to love her, and that we brought joy into each other’s lives.
Beautiful post! I have similar memories of an uncle of mine who was so influential in my upbringing but died when I was still fairly young. I sometimes wonder if things would have been different if he had been alive during my coming out, etc. because I know he would have supported me when no one else did. However, I can be happy knowing that he gave so much to me while he was still alive, and that strength has helped me get by over the years.