Like Grandmother, Like Granddaughter?

As I'm remembering back on my grandmother, the first thing that comes to mind are the differences. My grandmother was 4'10" or 4'11" when I was growing up. It was always a milestone for the grandchildren to be as tall and then taller than Nanny. At the most, I think she may have only weighed 120 at her heaviest. I haven't seen 120 since I was a teenager and at that, shot straight through it. She like dainty patterns, florals, and flowery verses. My style is more clean traditional. Nanny was always happiest puttering around the house and taking care of people. Me, I hate housework

But I caught myself buying some wallpaper for my hall bathroom when I moved into this house 13 years ago and one of my first thoughts was, "Nanny would like this paper with all the flowers on the border."

The most obvious way that I'm like my grandmother is that I share her name. Although her name was Ida Margaret, she went by Margaret. I'm named after her. And it's sometimes interesting to have 2 Margaret Sanders living so near to each other. I started with a particular insurance agent when I bought my first car because he was handy - at a kiosk in the local Sears store. Sears owned Allstate Insurance at the time. I didn't know that he was also my grandparents' insurance agent. Anytime I call up to speak to him, I have to identify which Margaret Sanders I am.

For both of us, family was/is the most important thing. Nanny was a homemaker and did babysitting on the side. She took care of my grandfather as his health deteriorated. Family history was important to her. She talked of her mother and mother's family. She had antique furniture from her mother's house, plus she had a china cabinet full of glassware and dishware that had familial significance.

My family is very important to me - I've always been close to my parents and my sisters and other extended family. And I share a love of family history. A few years ago, Nanny gave me some of her precious glassware as a Christmas present. It was from the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904 and one of the pieces has her sister's name egraved on it. It may not be monetarily valuable - it may be but I don't know, but when we evacuated last year in the face of Hurricane Rita, that glassware came with me. And there are one or two pieces of the antique furtniture I would love to have - but I won't fight the family for them.

Nanny loved trying different handcrafts - sewing, needlework, crocheting and knitting. I too have loved doing different crafts during the years. Right now, scrapping is my main crafty interest, but I still have a love for the others although I don't do them much anymore.

And Nanny loved her yard - especially her roses. I love my flowers. I have a rose bush in honor of Mary and a hibiscus in honor of Mom (Nina). I've never gotten the Margaret rose bush even though that's my name because red roses aren't my favorite, but now I may have to get one in Nanny's memory.

And the most important thing - I believe in a hereafter and I know that she's at peace and surrounded by her family that's gone before.