Today is my Grandmother Ellen Bush Cochran's 91st birthday! She is an absolutely remarkable woman of poise and stature - so classy and has always been something of a fashionista. I have countless memories of her since I was a very little girl. Every christmas and birthday, piano recital, church program, and graduation - she was there. Christmas at Grandma's is a classic memory...I remember the year I got my barbie travel case and the year I just KNEW she got me a mini-backpack...my penguin sweats and my teaset. I remember the spontaneous shopping sprees where she would help me pick out all kinds of things and then ask me to separate them into three piles: yes, no, and maybe (the maybe was NOT because they weren't cute - but because they were too expensive or I just couldn't want EVERYTHING). I would always think she was only going to buy me the yes pile - and then when I wasn't looking - she grabbed my maybe's too. I still laugh when I think about the day that I was helping her clean her house and I found all of her diamond jewelry from Grandpa hidden in a jar full of marbles - she thought it was lost forever - I think that was the biggest hug I've ever gotten! She was a marveling beauty as she walked down the aisle at my brother Kevin's wedding and I don't think there is anything more tender than watching her gingerly hold her sweet great-granddaughter Madeline (my brother's daughter). In her 91 years of life she has experienced SO much. She lived through the Great-Depression and shares stories often of having nothing reminding us to be SO thankful for the tremendous blessings we have...she survived World War II and the horrific events of the Holocaust...she lived through the turn of the century and has seen the world shift dramatically from being people oriented to being money oriented. I am convinced she can do anything - from sewing to baking to managing money and decorating a house. I can only pray that I will live my life to the fullest as she has - that I will be vivacious and full of energy - that I'll have joy and happiness through all the stages of life - and that I'll care for and about the people that matter the most. At 91-years-old, my grandma still lives on her own, drives, goes dancing, plays bridge, treats her family to lunch often, enjoys shopping, and can almost always spring for a good movie. She is the YOUNGEST old woman I've ever met and I am tremendously blessed to call her MY family. She is a beacon in my life and a woman I admire beyond words. I do not know how much longer I will have the gift of her presence in my life - but I pray that she will be here to walk down the aisle on my wedding day and that she'll get to hold my babies...I pray that she'll come to know the Lord as her Savior and that I'll be there to share in the sweet moments of her life that remain. She has touched my heart deeply and forever changed my life. So this is a tribute to you Grandma - for loving me every single moment of my life and being there for me through everything - ILOVEYOU beyond measure for always.
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