Missing Grandma Winward

            As I lie on the couch sick, covered up with one of my Grandma Winward’s blankets, smelling the Vick’s vapor rub on my chest, I can’t help but miss her.  She was the most amazing woman.  Her laugh . . . her hugs . . . her smile . . . her wisdom . . . her listening ear . . . and of course her sharp tongue!  J  There are so many things that remind me of her from day to day, but being sick is making me miss her even more.  I remember the days when she would take care of me when I was sick with a cold or something else.  She would ALWAYS make homemade Chicken Noodle Soup.  Where she would boil the chicken to make her own broth & roll out dough to make her own noodles.  I can still see her standing there in the kitchen, with flour on the counter top, hand prints (made from flour) on her pants, rolling the dough & cutting them into strips.  During this cooking process, she would always make sure that I was on the couch covered up with a blanket, & had Mentholatum on my chest & under my nose.  The smell of any vapor rub takes me back to these days.  I still remember where she kept the vapor rub . . . in her headboard & the canister it came in was a tin, round, short can, & had either pink or greenish-blue writing on the lid.   

After I first met my husband & was living in Salt Lake City, we went up to see her & Grandpa.  We always had fun visiting them.  Staying up until wee hours of the night, playing cards, eating popcorn & laughing until our sides hurt!  Listening to Grandpa's stories at the kitchen table, then Grandma reminding him that he already told us that story!  LOL  Good times, good times!  While we were there, I happened to get sick with a nasty cold.  Grandma swung into gear & started making her soul healing soup.  She sent me home with the whole pot so that I would get feeling better faster.  There was nothing better than sipping on her soup, cuddled up in a blanket, relaxing on my couch & yet still feeling the love & comfort of Grandma even though she was 3 hours away.   

That was the last time I had her homemade soup . . . Grandpa passed away in November of 2001 & soon after, Grandma went into assistant living due to her falling & breaking her hip.  Even though she wasn't in her own home, she was still full of life, love & fun.  She was always making the nurses & everyone she came in contact with, laugh & feel loved.  I can still hear her laugh.  When we all got together, we sounded like a bunch of cackling hens.  Nobody could take a nap when Velma's family came to visit!  My kids & I loved to go visit Grandma & I wish we would have done it more often.  In February 2010, the Lord decided he needed her back home with him.  It hasn’t been a year yet since Grandma passed away, & I am still missing her like crazy.  It saddens me to know that my kids will never know Grandma the way I knew her . . . I guess there’s only one thing I can do about it . . . learn to make homemade Chicken Noodle Soup!  I love & miss you Grandma!!