grandma.

my grandmother is crazy. and the best person i know. today was her 79th birthday, and at the end of the day, a few of us were sitting around the outdoor fireplace, wrapped in blankets and listening to my dad play the guitar. she says, "my life is so blessed. and that makes me sad, because some people do not have anywhere near the amount of blessings that i have had in my life. i have had a wonderful life. and i don't blame them [her sisters] for being the way they are [bitter] and feeling god has forgotten about them. because they see me, and they see all this, and they don't have any of it... god really looked out for me."

and the rest of us looked at each other, mouths slightly open in shock.

because my grandmother has had the hardest life of anyone i know. she grew up in brooklyn with italian parents, slept in the same bed as her (3) sisters because they were so poor, had to work really hard and take care of her little sisters/cousins... she met my grandpa, they had five children, and two of them died suddenly, very young (20s). she had difficult custody battles for 3 of the children, my cousins, and ultimately ended up raising them, too. she took care of my great-grandma, her mother, until she died at almost 100 years old. my grandfather had multiple heart surgeries that he wasn't supposed to survive and was a politician. neither of those were easy on my grandmother either... he died a year and a half ago, and now my grandma is alone. except that her crazy sisters moved in with her, making her life maybe even more miserable than it would have been.

most of the people in her life are dead.

so for her to smile tonight and talk about how lovely her life is and how blessed she was brought tears to my eyes.

she has faced (and overcome!) more difficulties than any other person i have ever heard of. fictional characters have had it easier than her, because authors aren't that mean. and for her to say that...

i don't think i'll ever forget it.
i don't ever want to forget it.
she taught me such an important lesson tonight.......