Ode to my Grandma

My very dear grandma died last night. Our family was (almost) all there with her, which was wonderful and also bittersweet.

She was a huge influence in my life, in many ways, not least of all the way I eat.

When I was born, my grandparents were living in Ghana, volunteering for the Peace Corps. It was a very special experience for them, and I think they would have enjoyed staying for another couple years, except that my grandmother had some heart problems. They came back to the states, and my grandmother completely changed her diet in order to live a long, healthy life. She went from someone who ate any ol' thing, loads of sweets and ice cream and soda... to becoming a faithful devotee of the Pritikin diet: No Fat, No Salt, No Sugar.

My entire childhood, she was completely strict about her diet. She was always athletic too - running, walking everywhere, swimming at the public pool. All these big changes happened 34 years ago - and we are all so grateful to her for commitment to her own health. We got so many more wonderful years together with her as a result!

We also all had a truly inspirational model of health & discipline. She ran our local women's 5-mile race for years and years, up until only about 2 or 3 years ago. And, they kept having to add new age divisions, just so that she could win the trophy for her age group!

Sometime around my college years, I noticed that my grandma began having a small piece of cake at birthday parties, or a chocolate chip cookie after dinner. Her staple was fat free ice cream... but she was happy to enjoy a naughty indulgence too. This is actually one of my favorite things that I learned from her - the balance of discipline with small joys. I definitely inherited her sweet tooth, and always enjoyed baking treats for her to enjoy. The very last thing she ate was a Reese's peanut butter cup. Even with her very reduced ability to talk, lying in the hospital bed, she was saying "mmmmmmm" as she ate it. I love that.

Overall, both of my grandparents have been brilliant sources of inspiration to me (and my whole family) - particularly in their ability to live their lives with total integrity, benevolence, and love. In all, they were married for 67 years, and were still truly as in love as they ever were.

Aside from being a passionate advocate of healthy eating, my grandmother was also a wonderful gardener, an extremely crafty creator, a committed environmentalist and volunteer, an early adopter of computers, and a passionate lover of the great outdoors. I'll really miss her.