Little Reminders

We have been thinking a lot about G'ma Caroline this past month. February marked a year since her passing, and she has been coming to mind quite often. My dad and his siblings have been cleaning out her house, and now my brother and his wife are buying it and moving in. It is so exciting to have another generation living at her place! My parents have been going through all of her "treasures" and have been trying to find homes for any and all of it. I've been wearing one of her rings all month--the one pictured above she wore on the finger that God saved after she sliced the tip off while cutting meat at the Colton Market. I can still see it on her finger. I also inherited an old pot that she made potato soup in and a great big cookie sheet that is deep enough to make brownies in. Yesterday when I made cookies on it for the first time, I was taken aback when I opened up the oven and was knocked over by the smell of one of her homemade pies. This must've been one of the sheets she put under her baking pies... I was amazed how a smell could take me back to her kitchen table and squeeze my heart so instantaneously.

While we keep going through G'ma Caroline's THINGS, I know that they weren't what was important to her. She loved and treasured the things we gave her because they were from us. I'm sure G'ma would probably tell us to do whatever we wanted with her stuff--that it was people and relationships that really mattered. But I have to tell you, I'm pretty glad it's close to impossible to wash away baked-on pie filling. :)

And as a PS...I was a bit frustrated with Gracie yesterday and I said in my serious mother-tone: "Graaaacie..." and I was so flustered that I couldn't remember her middle name. (It was THAT crazy of a day.) She just smiled at me and completed my thought: "Caroline!" The moment failed to communicate my frustration--Gracie just thought we were playing a fun fill-in-the-blank game. :) G'ma would've loved that story!