A Tribute To My Grandmother
Precious (and funny) memories
My grandmother passed away last night, at the age of 95. I decided to share some of my favorite memories of her, as my continuing bonds practice.
Greek coffee
My grandmother loved Greek coffee. Even while she was hospitalized, she kept asking for coffee. In her final days, the doctors gave in and allowed her to have some coffee. It made her very happy!
As a child, I loved dunking biscuits in coffee so she would make me my own coffee which was only meant for dunking the biscuits. The smell of Greek coffee and orange biscuits will always remind me of her.
Zucchinis and Dolmadakia
All of the foods she cooked were amazing, but my most favorite foods she made were dolmadakia (stuffed vine leaves), stuffed zucchini flowers, and zucchini fritters.
You should definitely try these foods if you have never eaten them before!
Ripped jeans
My grandmother hated ripped/distressed jeans with a passion. The first time my sister wore one, my grandmother shook her head and said “You actually paid to buy this?”
This is a funny memory that my sister and I recalled often, as it made us laugh a lot.
Mandatory afternoon soap operas
An afternoon wouldn’t be complete for her if she didn’t watch her favorite soap operas. She loved watching “The Young And The Restless” and “The Bold And The Beautiful”. Plus all the Greek drama series.
My grandmother had only attended the first four grades of primary school (that was normal for girls in villages back in the day, especially in poorer families). But, she could read all the subtitles like a pro and never missed a word!
She would get very engaged with whatever was going on in the soap operas. She really disliked the character of “Brooke” from “The Bold And The Beautiful”. It was funny that whenever “Brooke” did something nasty, my grandma would always have something to say about it, full on cursing at the TV as if Brooke could hear her!
Game shows
She also loved watching game shows. Her favorite was “Wheel of Fortune”. She was able to find very complicated words with few given letters. This was very impressive, especially given her educational level and later her struggle with dementia. I believe that she was a clever person, and if she had gotten a proper education she would have liked it a lot.
Flowers
She liked taking care of flowers and having a neat yard. I have shared about the special purple flower that she named after me. You can read about it here if you want:
Appearance
According to my mother, my grandmother cared about her appearance a lot when she was younger. Even when she got older, she liked to comb her hair every day and use a couple of bobby pins to frame the hair around her face.
She also never left the house without a handbag. One time we were sitting in the yard, and there was a woman (from the neighborhood) passing by. She stopped to greet my grandmother and told her that she was heading to the church. After she left, my grandmother exclaimed: “Where does she think she’s going dressed like that… without a handbag!”
Even to this day, my sister and I laugh about it a lot when we remember it, mostly because of the way it was said.
I could share so many more things, but then the story would get too long. That’s mainly because I have many memories of her that can’t be tied to a specific event. Those memories are of all the love and care I received from her, and how she made me feel special. Even when I was doubting my worth or my appearance, she always reassured me.
Thank you all for reading about my grandmother.
