100

Not a year goes by that I don't think of my grandma on October 8th...today would be her 100th birthday, but it's already been 11 years since she passed away...and I still think of her so often...
....when I look at my hands sometimes I look twice because my fingernails look like hers.
...when I eat gingersnaps.
...when I think about having people over to experiment with a new recipe.
...when I drive through the sugar cane fields to harvest at the gardens here in Swaziland, I double check as I turn to cross the irrigation ditches because I remember the one time when my grandma turned to sharply & ended up with a tire stuck in the ditch. 
...when I have leftover popcorn sitting in a bowl on the kitchen counter. 
...when I see petunias.
...when I try to explain the internet or facebook to a Swazi who doesn't understand (Grandma asked for a couple of years where the internet was kept).
...when I see tiny gogos caring for their grandchildren with joy & tenderness.

  And it seems like the more time goes on, the more I miss her!  Maybe it's just because I've spent the last couple days around two different people named Clara, maybe it's because as I live out in the rural areas it brings back memories of our farm.  
But I know now that I am so thankful that this precious woman was my grandma and lived only across the pasture from me for most of my life!  I am thankful for all of the things she taught me & modeled for me; I am thankful for her consistency in my life at basketball games, piano recitals and more.
I am thankful for the legacy she has left us through raising my dad to be the amazing man he is & for her faithfulness & consistency every day of her life until the end.  Happy 100th Birthday, Grandma!