A Happy Heart

I tell my girls stories about Gramma Sanner when she was young. However, I usually call Gram "Wheezie" in those stories. One time I finished my story and Nat said, "what happened next? what's the end of the story."

I said, "that's it, that's all I know."

She said, "Well, can we get that movie so we can know the end?"

"That's not a movie honey, that was a real life story. Do you know who Wheezie is?" "No" "That's Gramma Sanner!" She was surprised.

So last night, I was broiling some chiles in the oven (from my garden... thanks Suzette!). I had the oven door open and was turning the peppers. Nat came over and sat beside me.

"If I sit in front of the oven, I will grow bigger," she said.
"Why do you say that?" I ask... but I'm pretty sure where this is going.
"Well, because Gramma Sanner did that." Then she said some group of words that meant it was a long time ago and that it was a real story, not made up.

My Gram was born in 1918 as a twin and she was around 2 lbs. The doctor told the mother that the small baby girl would likely not make it, to "put her at the foot of the bed," and that she should just focus on the baby boy. He also told the mother she could turn the oven on, open the door and put the baby girl on the oven door. =) That's just what she did. As we know, the little girl made it! If fact, she lived to be 90!

So, 91 years later, my 4 year old wants to sit in front of the oven to grow. =)

Then, just three nights ago, Nat asked me to tell them a "Wheezie story" before bed and for the first time, Julsie said, "yeah, Wheezie."

Do you know how happy that makes me? To know my children will know my Gram although they were very young when she died and to know Gram will live on in small part because of the wonderful stories I tell them.