Betty Jean Kent

 My very, very sweet Grandma died yesterday.  She was 92.

Today, I am so conscious of the fact that most people aren't lucky enough to have their grandparents alive when they are 36 years old.

But even though I am lucky, I am so sad.

I'm sure we all think this about our loved ones, but my Grandma was actually a special lady. There is no doubt that if you were lucky enough to meet her you would agree; her boatloads of friends are evidence and so is her very close and devoted family.  The truth -- and I would have told you this anytime you asked me during my life -- is that my Grandma was the best grandma ever.

She knew how to really laugh when something was funny (I have been carrying around with me these past days a memory of her laughing) and she was very clever and she did things right (when I stayed with her after she had knee surgery, to help her, she suggested that I get down on my hands and knees to wash the kitchen floor because, really, it was the best way to do it).  I hope I can be like her in her ability to make the best of any situation; she was so good at that.

I haven't lived in the same city as my Grandma since right after I graduated from college.  She heard from someone (possibly me) that I was eating garden burgers for dinner every night and so she started having me over once a week for cooking lessons.  I think she hoped I would actually learn to cook but really I came to eat her food and visit for a while and if I can make a pie crust now because of those evenings, that's just a bonus.

And she wasn't just kind to her family.  She was an ESL teacher and long after she retired, if she bumped into someone who needed help learning English, she invited them over for weekly lessons.

My Grandma taught me that playing cards and board games is fun, but she was very good at cards and board games.  (These things are more fun for those who are good at them.)  She also taught me that a glass of white wine makes them even more fun.   (And a glass of wine makes them more fun for those of us who are not so good at cards and games.)

I miss her already.  I really do.  She was one classy lady.