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a eulogy for my grandmother
it's no secret; my grandma was a card shark. i have fond memories of her teaching me card games -- somehow even sitting quietly and watching her play solitaire was mesmerizing. it's a simple enough game, but the way she played it was difficult to win. three cards at a time, and no cheating. i didn't understand it then -- why not turn one card at a time? why not sneak in an extra row whenever a king popped up? the way i played, with my own special rules, i won every time. go figure. my grandmother, however, very literally played with the cards she was dealt. i understand now that playing virtuously made the win all the more triumphant.
she exercised that game play throughout her entire life. she didn't always get the best cards right off the bat, but she lived her life as though she always had a winning hand.
along the way she collected her life cards in accomplishments, family and adventure, with a general sense that each day would bring another opportunity to score big. a card for each of her five children, one for each grandchild, and thousands for the memories built with her many friends, so many of whom i'm happy to see here today.
i was about twelve and my grandma and i were on a caribbean cruise. who else but my grandmother would have suggested we go snorkeling in jamaica? it certainly wasn't my idea, but it was a great one. on walks around the desert or on hikes outside of san francisco while visiting rebecca and ramon, who could keep pace with her? not many. who else would teach my friends and i to play cards till all hours of the nite? she may not have had mercy on us (after all, she was a serious winner), but she was a good and patient teacher. more than anything i know she simply relished every moment and opportunity she had to spend with her friends and family. she took great pains to have a special relationship with every one of us, and it shows.
i admire her joy for life, continually planning for the next great adventure, or simply the next thanksgiving holiday -- sometimes equally adventurous, especially in this family. she never treated her life as a deck of cards stacked against her.
there's a book out now, i haven't read it but i know a little about it. it's called not quite what i was planning, and it's a collection of short memoirs, some famous, others pedestrian. they are each equally punctuated by six words; sometimes a full phrase, sometimes simply a collage of words. they are all concise and thoughtful epitaphs for each unique personality.
i know that my grandma lived a full and fulfilling life. i don't think any of us were ready to say goodbye, but i think we can all rest easy in knowing that she loved us dearly and that, despite the hand of cards she was sometimes dealt, she loved her life.
i have six words to end with. i think that at the end of it all, when she looked at the cards that represented her colorful life and wonderful memories, she would have smiled, made her cute little cackle, and said
look, i have a royal flush!
she exercised that game play throughout her entire life. she didn't always get the best cards right off the bat, but she lived her life as though she always had a winning hand.
along the way she collected her life cards in accomplishments, family and adventure, with a general sense that each day would bring another opportunity to score big. a card for each of her five children, one for each grandchild, and thousands for the memories built with her many friends, so many of whom i'm happy to see here today.
i was about twelve and my grandma and i were on a caribbean cruise. who else but my grandmother would have suggested we go snorkeling in jamaica? it certainly wasn't my idea, but it was a great one. on walks around the desert or on hikes outside of san francisco while visiting rebecca and ramon, who could keep pace with her? not many. who else would teach my friends and i to play cards till all hours of the nite? she may not have had mercy on us (after all, she was a serious winner), but she was a good and patient teacher. more than anything i know she simply relished every moment and opportunity she had to spend with her friends and family. she took great pains to have a special relationship with every one of us, and it shows.
i admire her joy for life, continually planning for the next great adventure, or simply the next thanksgiving holiday -- sometimes equally adventurous, especially in this family. she never treated her life as a deck of cards stacked against her.
there's a book out now, i haven't read it but i know a little about it. it's called not quite what i was planning, and it's a collection of short memoirs, some famous, others pedestrian. they are each equally punctuated by six words; sometimes a full phrase, sometimes simply a collage of words. they are all concise and thoughtful epitaphs for each unique personality.
i know that my grandma lived a full and fulfilling life. i don't think any of us were ready to say goodbye, but i think we can all rest easy in knowing that she loved us dearly and that, despite the hand of cards she was sometimes dealt, she loved her life.
i have six words to end with. i think that at the end of it all, when she looked at the cards that represented her colorful life and wonderful memories, she would have smiled, made her cute little cackle, and said
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