To my dearest Grandma

Dear Grandma,
I have heard that you are not feeling well and have been in the hospital for some time. I want you to know that I have been thinking about you every single day and worrying about you too. Alex and I have been having such a wonderful time travelling and I know that you and Grandpa used to LOVE to travel together...I bet that is where I got my wanderlust from! It is so hard to be so far away from you making it impossible for me to just pop around to visit and talk and laugh with you about my travels and all the things that I have been doing. I want you to know that you are the best grandma in the world and that I am so glad that we got to visit before I left for my around the world trip. I have been thinking about all my favourite things about you and my best memories of times I spent with you when I was a little girl and I have a Top Ten List for you of my favourite grandma things:

10) I remember that we would always go for a walk each and every day and you would always take me to this playground by your house with the best play equipment ever! I loved it there and we would stay for hours, while I ran around from slide to swing to merry-go-round and you would let me stay all day long before we left to go home for supper.

9) Baby perfume bottles...Grandma you have so many of those and when I was younger you would always give me so many to take back home and you would let me try them all on so I could smell as lovely as you always do!

8) How much you love Cameos and you have such a great collection of them. I love cameos because of you, as they always remind me of you. You loved to dress up and you always looked so beautiful with your cameo ring and pins. Every time I see one, it makes me think of you.

7) The only song I know how to play on the piano is the one that you taught me how to play. It is a simple song, but I love it and Wendy and I sometimes sit down and play it together. I am not sure what it is called, but it always reminds me of you and the piano in the house where you keep all the old pictures of Grandpa and that family.

6) You would always make me a lovely grapefruit for breakfast...it was so pink and juicy and you would slice it right down the middle and sprinkle a tiny bit of sugar on top. What you might not have known was that as soon as you left the room, I would pour the rest of the sugar bowl on top of that grapefruit and eat it up. I am sure I was a bit wired after that, but you never seemed to mind.

5) When I used to come and visit you each summer on a plane all by myself and you pick me up at the airport and we would go visiting to all my relatives and your friends. It was so nice to be taken around and shown off to everyone. It made me feel very special.

4) I remember that you always had the most beautiful fingernails. They were always well manicured and sometimes even had tiny diamonds stuck in the corner for some extra shine. I loved that. One time, I remember that you painted one of my nails and put a tiny diamond on it just for me so that I would look just as gorgeous as you!

3) Each and every Passover and Shabbat dinner you have ever cooked for me...yummy. I remember when you would put a cloth over your head and say the 'Brucha' over the candles on Shabbat. You looked so lovely and it was nice to be a part of such a peaceful night with such a wonderful dinner.

2) You always came to the rescue when Alexis would steal my stuffed animals and hold them hostage underneath the dining room table. I would cry and cry and you bring out a tiny piece of cheese and bribe him and tempt him with it until he would make the ultimate swap...the cheese for the stuffed animal. You always rescued all my stuffed animals from him and cleaned off his slobber and I would feel so much better!

1) The ultimate of all memories and thoughts of you Grandma is your magical Apple Crisp...What a delicious concoction that is. It is truly my most favourite dessert I have ever had in my entire life. I have tried and tried to match your recipe and bake it time and time again to no avail. I have also tried to find a similar treat in all the restaurants, but it is unmatched.

So there you have it Grandma, my top 9 things that I just love about you and make me smile every time I think about them. It seems that they all revolve around food, but what can I say...it must be a Jewish thing...we LOVE food! There are millions more, but these are just my top 10! I miss you so much and love you more than you can ever know. I really hope that you start feeling better and get well soon. I am always thinking about you...my very special grandma.

Love Always,
Melissa