Grandma Ruth

Warning: this gets sentimental.

So it's hot outside (heat index of 90) and I decide to take a walk with Lola. She loves walks...and smelling every single tree, bush, and blade of grass along the way. Needless to say it takes us an hour to walk a block (slight exaggeration but you get the idea). Tonight was exceptionally pleasant as there were no other crazy people out walking in this heat. No other person besides the sweetest old lady I've met, and I only say that because she reminded me of someone I love. My grandma. Grandma Ruth passed away years ago but I still think of her often. Many of my summers as a child were spent at her house picking raspberries and chasing butterflies (no really, it's true). She didn't smell like old people. She smelled like Trident gum, lilacs, and plastic hair curlers. She'd sing to me while washing my hair in the kitchen sink. Every morning she'd wake me up to the smell of pancakes or my favorite, french toast. And buy me the latest shoes for my Barbie (it was hard to keep up with the trends). She was the best! So when this sweet neighbor lady's dog came running up to Lola, she came running after her dog. It's what she said that stopped me dead in my tracks. "Say, now!" What? My grandma used to say that to us when we were causing a ruckus. Did this lady just say this to her dog? I must meet her! So we chatted about her adorable lab and the tree she recently cut down. I was even offered some free wood. The whole time we talked I couldn't help but feel like we had been friends for years. She maybe didn't smell like my grandma but she had the same sparkly eyes and spunky energy. It's times like these that make me miss Grandma Ruth the most, always when I least expect it. If I could I would hop on the next hot air balloon and ride on up to heaven for a little neighborhood gossip while we exchanged the latest issue of the National Enquirer. Love and miss you Grandma! "Talk at cha later!"