Friday, May 15, 2009

In loving memory...

Last year on her 80th birthday
Monday, May 5th, 2009, my grandmother, who I call Yia Yia, passed away. (Pronounced YI YUH --it means grandmother in Greek) The picture above shows her fun side, her zest for life. I love her so much and I will miss her. Yia Yia loved bargains. If something was on sale, she would buy it even if she didn't want or need it, just because it was on sale. Getting a good deal on something thrilled her. She loved ice cream, and most of you know I take after her on that. She always gave me advice. Every time I would come to her house, she would try to sit me and Paul down and explain to us that her plastic container of pills were for her and that we should not touch them because they would be dangerous to us. Even as a teenager, she would tell me not too. "Yia Yia, trust me, I don't want to eat your pills." She made me laugh. She loved to bake, loved to cook, and was extremely good at both. When my parents got married, she gave my mom a lot of really good recipes that she uses to this day. It helped my mom get started on cooking, and now I'm learning to make the same things..yum! When we would go to her house, we always played the game "Password." Really fun times we had! She loved her boys, us kids, and my mom very much, and it expressed it to all of us. What a big stubborn streak she had! She always wanted to know how much we spent on things we bought. On her 76th birthday, we had a surprise party for her. A limo showed up at the house to pick her up. We took her to a restaurant where she was surprised to see many of her friends and family all there. She laughed and cried, and then scolded my dad for spending the money. She always made us laugh when she worried about things and scolded for everything. I could go on and on, but I will end with saying, I love you Yia Yia, I miss you, and thank you for what you did for me--for all of us.
Love,
Jen

5 comments:

cltgrace said...

Jen - I'm so sorry for your loss. Your Yia Yia sounds like a truly extraordnary woman.

Carol Connell said...

Jen,

That is a beautiful tribute to Yia Yia. You described her so well. I'm glad both you and Paul were able to grow up knowing her. I miss her too.

Jennifer Connell said...

Carmen- Thank you, and yes, she really was.

Mom- I'm glad we both grew up knowing her, too.

Anonymous said...

It's totally random that I found your sight. I was googling a song and you popped up:) I really like your profile. I'm glad to see that you're a strong Christian! I was saved at an apostolic pentecostal church a year ago today. it's the most amazing thing thats ever happened to me:) anyways you don't know me and I don't know why I'm leaving you this but I just wanted to say I like your profile:)
Sis. Ellen (Spokane WA)
(Cornerstone church)

Jennifer Connell said...

Well thank you Sis. Ellen! I agree, being saved right in an apostolic pentecostal church is the best thing that happened to me!