I know loss gets easier with time. I also know that I have to go through the painful emotions, both happy and sad, to get to the easier side. She has left an emptiness that will take time to fill. Her petite stature held together a much larger figure that embraced and experienced life in ways we will never fully comprehend.
She was my grandmother, my confidant, my best friend.
She was our matriarch, the queen of our show, the caller of the shots.
She was my link to our past, my purpose in our present and my hope for our future.
She was a quiet strength and calm in any storm.
She loved a long dinner with her special friends.
She loved to play bridge, and she really loved winning the pot.
She loved fine classical music.
She loved to read good books.
She loved to learn.
She loved Hershey’s chocolate nuggets.
She loved a good manicure with clear nail polish.
She loved a glass of wine in the afternoon.
She loved cheese biscuits.
She loved salmon colored geraniums on her porch in the summer.
She loved homegrown tomato sandwiches with mayo on thin white bread.
She loved to laugh until she cried.
She told you what she thought, yes indeed, she always told you what she thought.
She believed a lady should always be prepared to host guests.
She believed in the value of the past and the power of the future.
She taught me the importance of a proper handshake.
She taught my boys how to properly make up a bed with hospital corners.
She taught my boys to pull out a chair and assist women as they are seated.
She taught them the manners of waiting to sit until all the women were seated.
She taught them never to eat until she had raised her fork at the dinner table.
She taught me to look past the outside and peer into the more valuable inside.
She taught me to speak less and listen more.
She taught by example.
Her selflessness was limitless.
Her determination was unstoppable.
Her strength was constant.
Her eyes and her emotions told stories words could not tell.
She loved her family with every ounce of herself and then some.
My life, and the lives of all who knew her are forever better having received her love.
She was exceptional, though she didn’t think so.
She was just herself, nothing more and nothing less.
Plain and simple and absolutely exceptional.
Copyright © Gatewood Campbell, March 2013
Embracing Change 
Very beautifully said, a lovely tribute to an amazing woman.
Thank you Angie.
WOW-how wonderful to read!! All of what you just wrote will forever stay with you. You are her in so MANY ways and I love you my friend:)))
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Thank you Theresa. Yes indeed she left us with thoughts and habits that she hoped we would carry with us each day.
So beautiful…as are you and as was your grandmother! Love to you and yours as you heal….Margie
Thank you Margie, and thank you to both you and Bill for being here to celebrate Emmer’s life with us.
beautiful…..just beatiful……love you…
Cheairs, you remain a constant source of strength in my daily life. I’m eternally grateful. The lengths you went to in order to be here for our family brought healing to my broken heart. Thank you for giving so much of yourself.
This is a beautiful tribute to your grandmother. Sounds like a wise and wonderful woman – something we can all strive to become.
She was Stephanie. We were so blessed. Thank you for your kind words.
I did read a lot of her in this blog Gatewood!! So glad you shared. Especially when it says”she told you what she thought”. I need to put this candy bar down!!!!!! Lol
Ah Carmen…she absolutely adored you! Now, step away from the chocolate:) Can’t you just hear her now?!! Haha!
Gatewood, you made me cry and I never even met your grandmother!
Thank you Becky. She was a special lady indeed and we all miss her so much, yet we realize we each carry her and her characteristics with us. I believe she would be proud.