Waves

Do you remember meeting my Memaw? Well, she is my Dad's mother and a remarkable lady. In December 1995 my mother gave my Memaw a journal for Christmas. My Memaw wrote in that journal regularly through April of 2009. She then gave the journal to my mother, who told me about it. So, I did what every good grandaughter does...... I stole it from Mom. It is now in my possesion.

It might sound bad that I took it, but my mother obviously hasn't noticed. I love this journal. I keep it next to my bed. The teal cover, the yellowed pages, the newspaper clippings tucked in the back. I love everything about it.

Side note: This week has been terrible. In every way possible. Work. Personal life. My face broke out. We all have weeks like this. This week though, has been a toughie.

On with the story. Sometimes when I am feeling down, I pick up my gandmother's beloved journal. I flip her pages. I run my fingers over her handwriting. Then, I flip to an entry dated close to the current day, and there I begin.

So, after a challenging day yesterday, I did just that. I began reading on August 25th 1996. I was 10 at the time. After feeling beat up by this world and a little frazzled I opened to read this:

"Life is like the big ocean waves. Smooth-rough-choppy-calm-windy-cold-warm-high & low tides. Life has its up's & down's. The old saying reach out and help someone. Who knows what your ocean will be like next week, next month, next year. When you are thrown a life jacket grab it & hold on until you're safe on shore. The moral of my story is, find out what your life jacket is. Find out what is important to you in life, it's up to you to know. Grab your life jacket and hold on".

This excerpt was taken in it's original form. It makes sense to me because I know her. Hope it makes sense to you as well.

My grandmother was sound asleep in her bed last night as I read her words from years ago and cried. Funny how she knew just what to say to me without saying a word. I am thankful for her words and will value them forever.

Oh, and by the way, don't let the cat out of the bag that I have her journal. I don't want my mom to reclaim it. Thanks.