My Keyboard

the earliest memories i have of visiting family in Vegas is when from we lived in California. it was a 10 hour drive that took us from our house in Fairfield to grammy's house in Las Vegas. even though my other siblings slept on the car ride, i would stay awake thinking that if my dad fell asleep, i would, somehow, be able to save our family. (what goes on in a childs mind is often amusing). Las Vegas was an entirely different world than what i was used to in California. there were thousands and thousands of lights, wide streets with tall retaining walls around neighborhoods, and the city, as a whole, seemed to never rest. we would ususally get into town very early in the morning, and all of us kids would go to sleep on grammy's floor. we were always so excited to play with our cousins the next day. we would ride 4-wheelers, shoot pool, go swimming, load up the juke box with songs... a pretty much, just play until our hearts were content. we all loved seeing all of our cousins, aunts, uncles and grammy. and even though all of my cousins had the coolest toys in all of the world, my favorite was at grammys house. it was a small electronic keyboard, and was usually the first thing i asked for every time we arrived at grammys. -----------------------------------------------

thru out the years, the trips to Las Vegas became more and more familiar, with the exception of flying instead of driving. you could still see all the fancy lights from the plane, the airport was still going strong at 4am with its' slot machines, and grams house still had my favorite toy awaiting our arrival. this was our family, and we loved being with them.


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a few days ago my mom called, and as they were finalizing the details of grams funeral, she wanted to know if there was anything of grammys i would like to have to remember her by. at first, i thought of my keyboard. it was the one item that truly reminded me of my grammy; but i don't know how an object would help me remember all that my grandmother stood for, who she was, or what she meant to me. how could an object remind me of how i felt when grammy came to my college graduation, or how i felt when Molly and I were being sealed for time and eternity with grammy watching, or how Molly felt, now that she 'had' a grandmother again? how could any object remind me of how good i felt being with my grandmother???

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while in Las Vegas, this time to attend my grandmothers funeral, i payed special attention to my own mother. i watched as she comforted Addie after a long day of traveling. i watched my mom take Conner out into the back yard to play ball. i watched my mom caring and looking after Ben's kids. then i realized that that is how i'll remember grammy. after all, grammy taught my mom all that she knows. everytime nana holds my children, plays with my children, reads with my children, or finds toys for my children when we visit, I'll Remember My Grandmother. Everything nana does for her grandchildren, reflects what grammy did for me.

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I am grateful to have had grammy in my life; But I am even more grateful to know that my children will experience the same love from their grandmother, that I received mine.