My Grandma!

So this is a picture, taken in November 2000, of my maternal grandparents with Ryan. It was taken just a few months before my grandpa (James Sofoulis, Jr.) died. He had esophageal cancer. My grandma, Maxine, has been a widow ever since. Today is her 85th birthday! Happy Birthday Grandma! My grandma's life has deteriorated over the years, as it often does with the years being added on to your life. She currently lives in a nursing home and has dementia. I have great memories of her! She was an amazingly active person! She worked at Sears and for a long time we always got to pick out some school clothes from the catalog (with grandma's 20% off!) and that was always fun! Growing up in a little town, that was HUGE to me! Pretty exciting!
Grandma was always on the board or chair of something. For as long as her mind let her (and as long as I can remember) she was the President of the Mecosta County Historical Society. (This is in Michigan.) Her father was the Sheriff in Mecosta County so they lived in the "Old Jail" for part of her life. So to be in charge of it's restoration and upkeep was very personal to her. Along with this position, she was also in charge of the Mecosta County Museum. I LOVED going to the museum! she would often let us try on the shoes or hats or sometimes even a dress or two. I loved looking at the old pictures and letters and books she would pour over, trying to figure out if they were relevent to Mecosta County. She would give tours to school groups or other organizations and I loved listening to her excitement in retelling these stories over and over and over! I can visualize her mannerisms, the way she moved her hands, tilt her head or wipe the saliva out of the corners of her mouth when she got talking so fast!
My grandparents are not memebers of the Church, but one night they came and participated in our Family Home Evening talent show. She came over in one of her long moo-moos, which I thought was odd. She then, when it was her turn, sat on the ground, put on a hair net thing (like the lunch ladies wear) and did a meditation pose (crossed legs, hands on knees). I remember waiting to see what she was going to do! Then, all of the sudden, she starts wiggling her ears! It was AWESOME! I had never seen anyone wiggle their ears before! I laughed and laughed and laughed! It still makes me smile to think about it!
Another thing I remember about grandma is that she ALWAYS had a project going at home! Her and grandpa had their side by side recliners and next to grandma's recliner was a couch usually filled with magazines, newspapers, something she was working on. She'd clear a spot off for us when we'd come over. We lived next door to them for a majority of my life. I loved walking across the yard to see them. Grandpa would offer a candy (usually a pink mint) and nuts (ALWAYS cashews!) and grandma would get us a pop or something she had baked. She was always trying new recipes.
Whenever I wanted to make some money, she would always have something for me to do. Usually cleaning out a pantry or cupboards or something. Grandma wasn't the neatest person, pretty much becuase she was always out doing other things!
Grandpa and Grandma had a motor home when I was in Jr High and High School. They would let me and my girl friends have sleep overs in it many times. We LOVED that! It was always so fun to have our 'own place'. She always had chips, pop and candies in there for us, too!
She'd take a few of us kids camping with her and grandpa often. Grandpa was in a band (called the Scotville Clown Band) and so they camped a lot to march in parades aroudn Michigan. On these trips she taught me cribbage.
When I moved to Utah, grandma was always SO amazing about sending a card on each holiday stuffed with a book of stamps and a $5 or $10 bill. She'd fill me in on everything she was doing to keep busy! I still have those cards!
We haven't been able to go out and see her in many years. Her dementia was just starting to show. I was pregnant with Nathan at the time, so it has been almost 7 years. So am I grateful for memories I do have of her! I know her quality of life isn't good. Sometimes I wish she was reunited with Grandpa and her family! But as for today....HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I love you, grandma!