Elizabeth Ventimiglia

Dear Grandma, Thank you for being you. You see I wouldn't be me if it weren't for you. Thank you for being Italian... only the other Italians will understand the gratefulness for this seemingly crazy lifestyle. Thank you for raising us in a loud, say anything, Jesus loving, always busy bodied environment. But seriously... thank you for teaching mom how to make sauce, who then taught me. I wish you had taught her how to make your cream puffs too! Thanks for never serving me a PB &J , instead a well crafted half pound Italian meat and cheese sandwich. Thank you for never sitting down during family meals but instead buzzing around making sure no one's plate was ever completely empty. Thank you for seconds... and thirds.. and then dessert. And thank you for the holidays; especially Easter. Thank you for always having clothes out on the line in the back yard so I could find the egg in your bra. Thank you for not only being Italian but Sicilian and bringing us the St. Joseph's Table. Now I understand why all those fava beans were tucked in every nook and cranny of your house. I have almost as many memories of us on Calvert street as I do of my own childhood home. Thank you for the fun - we were two peas in a pod. It was much more like playing with my best friend than being babysat by grandma. Thank you for playing along with all my silly games and experiments. Remember how you use to let me dig up your backyard and plant every seed from every fruit and vegetables we ate? I can't believe an avocado tree never sprouted. And in the summer when it was so, so crazy hot, after grandpa left the house we would strip down to our under-roos "cause it was just us girls"... Until the doorbell would ring and we would run and hide. Thank you for all your health advice over all those summers. Even at 8 years old I knew your wisdom to be true. You taught me there is no ailment that cannot be cured by one of those two blue bottles in the fridge - Mylanta or Milk of Magnesia. And I know better than to ever sit on cold concrete for fear of getting hemorrhoids. Bare feet will absolutely cause you to catch a cold. Many might think your beautiful skin is from the $80 Clinique moisturizer but we both know it's from the $4 Ponds cold cream you lathered on every night. See, I have been paying attention. Thank you for teaching me all those girly secrets like how to properly put on a bra - the wiggle, wiggle, jiggle, jiggle - long before I had anything to wiggle or jiggle. And thanks for teaching me that exercise to make sure that I did someday.. I think it worked! Thank you for being a good secret keeper. Like the time I was playing with matches and accidentally set the carpet on fire. You told mom that Grandpa dropped his cigarette... Thank you Grandpa for taking the fall. Thank you for always being ready to meet the day. Hair, make-up, nails, jewelry... attitude... Some people say that makes you a diva. Thank you for being a diva! But on a more serious note, thank you for simply living so, so long. Thanks for these past 6 years where I got to have you back in my everyday life just like when I was a child. And even though many years had passed we were once again two peas in a pod. You were still up for anything. How many 90 something year olds dress up for the Grease sing along or the Michael Jackson tribute show? I loved every moment of it! Thank you for showing me there is a point in your life (after 21) when you actually enjoy rounding up your age. "Hey I'm ALMOST 97 years old." The thing I am most grateful for these last few years is a gift of bearing witness. Witness to a love, a friendship between a 96 year old woman and a 6 year old boy. It is hard to express the extraordinary bond between you and your great-grandson Jacob. Actually it's quite easy - You're two peas in a pod! Just like us. Thanks for not holding back jumping in there once again full of life and love and laughter. Full of never ending energy playing games, building forts... the beannie baby dodge ball game the two of you invented. Let's not forget the highly rated "Jacob and GG" video shows. I'm a little jealous to have been stuck behind the camera. The two of you wearing matching cowboy hats, hammering dinosaur eggs, or the exploding lava lamp experiment... priceless! Trust me it won't be the 3 foot Godzilla or the 5 foot alligator you bought him that he will remember in 40 years. It's you and your time spent. Your love, happiness and loving spirit that allowed all these memories to be made and kept forever. Grandma, thank you for being you. We simply couldn't be us without you! Love Always, Your Dolly Girl Jennifer