Special Post for a Wonderful Grandmother

My grandma Trissel passed away peacefully in the early morning hours on Saturday, November 6, 2010. She was surrounded by her family that loved her so much! She had a short battle with pancreatic cancer and died in the compassionate hands of the hospice staff at the Kavanagh House.

Thinking of my grandma, I'm reminded of her calming demeanor - she had this peaceful presence about her and I always felt so loved when I was with her. She was the grandma that always had the cookies ready for you when you got there and wanted to make sure your belly was full of those treats that you didn't always get at home.

I remember having garage sales at their house on Christopher St. and they would go up and get a dozen Casey's donuts in the morning, so we could get some energy before us kids would play in the backyard while the parents had a busy day of sales ahead :)

Who could forget the organ that they had in their basement! Whenever we went over there for family gatherings, holidays, etc. us kids would take turns blaring out tunes on the organ, playing ping-pong, and eyeing my grandpa's funny mask that he had up on a shelf, and would occasionally put on to get a laugh from us kids.

Growing up they were active grandparents that would be cheering me on at my various sporting events, especially soccer games. And coming to watch me at my dance recitals, which looking back now, those things were SO long, so they deserved much more than just a "thank you" from me for sitting through all of those!

And probably some of my favorite memories of growing up - CAMPING with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Blackhawk State Park was the place to be almost every summer where we'd spend time camping with each other. Once again, I remember us kids gravitating toward my grandparent's camper to play games, get candy, and just be kids away from our parents!

Within the last couple of years, my grandma holds a special place in my memory for making Jasper, when he was born, a beautiful afghan in our favorite colors - bronco blue, orange, and white. At family birthday parties, she would always catch up on what fun things Jasper had been up to, and if she could catch him, she would hug him and you could just see the joy in her face that both her grandkids and great-grandkids brought her.

The picture in this post is definitely one of my favorites from my cousin Autumn's wedding, where her and my grandpa were recognized for being the longest married couple at the wedding - 59 years!

We will miss you so much, Grandma! I'm thankful for all the memories that we've had, I'm blessed to have had such great role-models in you and Grandpa to show what true love is really all about (even though we teased you when you two would wear matching sweatshirts!:)). You will always have a special place in my heart and I will remember your warm presence and the feeling I always got, that around you, no matter how old I was, I was still a kid having a great time with grandparents that supported and loved me unconditionally.