My Grandma Reva Roper turns 90 this month. (I'm pretty sure she won't mind me telling you how old she is because 1) she's never seemed to concerned about the nonsense that is being embarrassed about your age, and 2) she's having a party later this month and the invitations clearly state her age!)
Grandma has been a solid foundation for me my entire life. Some of my earliest memories are of staying at her house when I was really little while my parents were at school/work. Granted, most of these memories feature Buffy, the dog she had at the time and who I LOVED and shared my popcorn and soda with, but still. It was Grandma's house.
When we lived in North Carolina while my dad got his doctorate we would come out to UT for a couple of weeks in the summer and usually at Christmas. In the summer I remember sleeping in her basement, where it was always cool and really dark. In the winter it was always snug and warm. (When Buffy was alive, she'd come down and sleep at the foot of my bed, under the covers.) Grandma's house had an awesome green marble toy that we'd play with for hours, and ice cream buckets full of Matchbox cars and a big car play mat with streets and buildings and stuff drawn on it. In the summer her backyard was always so pretty (still is!), with lush green grass, lots of flowers, and lots of area to run and play in. And a swing set, at least until it got taken out for Valerie's wedding. And in the winter it always seemed to have snow, which was pretty magical to a kid who lived in the south at the time. (I realize now that it probably didn't always have snow, but that's what I remember!)
As I got older, and once she returned from her mission in Munich, I was able to go over to Grandma's house quite often while I attended BYU; my roommates got to know and love Grandma Roper as well! She even hosted the dinner part of one of my dance dates. (I think it was homecoming my senior year. And I *think* Lance was my date.) She insisted that we attend both convocation and commencement when I graduated, something I would have rather had skipped since I was getting married the next week. But now I'm so glad she did! It was at Grandma's house that Lance gave me my engagement ring; he had proposed several weeks earlier, but we had it custom made and it took a few weeks to get done. And it was at Grandma's house where I spent my last night in UT before trekking east to Indiana. It was unexpected, as we were supposed to leave that day, but we had issues with the moving truck and didn't want to drive in the middle of the night.
Grandma gave so much support to me and - especially - to my Dad when my mom died. She offered support and needed advice as I tried to figure out this whole mothering thing when Spencer was born. She re-introduced Susie and my Dad, which has been an enormous blessing in my life and the lives of my kids.
These are just a fraction of my memories that include Grandma; I could go on and on. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that Grandma has had a large impact on my life. She is an amazing example and one of my favorite people, and I'm just grateful and thankful to have her in my life!
I've been struggling trying to think of a birthday gift that would communicate how much she means to me. At 90 years old, I figured she didn't really need more 'stuff'. I don't live nearby, so I can't take her out to dinner or spend extra time with her. (Although I will be out for the party!) And then last night it hit me: she has been fairly vocal about my not blogging any more, saying she missed my updates and pictures. So, Grandma, for your birthday I will try to blog every day this month. Some will be backlogged things I should have already posted about, some will probably just be short anecdotes. But I will try my very best to get it done! And who knows, maybe I'll get back into the habit and blogging will become more regular for me.
Happy birthday, Grandma. I love you and hope you enjoy your gift!
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