Matt's Granny passed away a couple months ago and I have written and rewritten a blog tribute for her.  Nothing seems to come close to doing justice to the lady that she was and the impact that she had on Matt and I.  With that in mind here goes...

 One of the worst things about living overseas is thinking about what we would do if we lost someone close to us at home.  Unfortunately we had to figure that out a few months ago.  Matt’s dear Granny died.  We got the call in the middle of the night and grief and the distance blanketed us for several days.  Matt decided not to go home as Granny had so keenly insisted on him not doing so if something happened to her or Grandpa Don. 

Granny (Frances Snodgrass) was a very special sort of lady.  When Matt was introducing me for the first time to his family he made it clear to me that it was Granny that could make or break the deal.  If she said that she didn’t like me, the gig was up.  Luckily she loved me and so Matt and I were able to continue our romance. 

Granny worked as a lobbyist for the Kansas Legislature until she retired. This resulted in her always being informed in political current events and she expected those around her to be educated on things that matter as well.  She would ask questions like ‘what are your thoughts on the new supreme court justice’ and I was always thanking my lucky stars that my mom is a news junkie and I was able to give a semi-educated response.

The way Granny listened to answers and opinions was beyond respectable.  She cared what we thought and why.  She would take quick notes as we spoke to ask further questions.  Considering the evidence and opinions of those that mattered to her she would then form her own opinion and she certainly wasn’t afraid to share it.   Her politics always seemed to lean left of center, which aligned nicely with mine.  Granny’s progressive view on the world was beyond her generation and it warmed my heart.  When she wanted to make a point extra clear to ensure I was listening carefully, she would gently take my hand in hers and look me in the eye as she told me where a certain Politian could shove it.  She was a walking contradiction of sweet and sass. 

She made a mean friend chicken dinner.  Although she couldn’t make it up and down the stairs to their basement anymore, she kept a sharp mental inventory of her pantry that Grandpa Don was charged with running.  She and I both loved Downton Abbey and The Good Wife.  She loved hearing about our adventures from abroad. 

Granny was a type of tough-old-bird that only seems common with women of her generation.  She lost a son too soon and that grief made her love those around her deeper.   Matt was exceptionally close to Granny.  I am forever thankful for her for the influence that she had on Matt.  There are so many parts of her that I see in Matt daily.  Their commonalities are uncanny; Their sharp intelligence, their constant search for truth, their love of cooking for others, their careful family prioritization, their desire to root for the underdog, their thoughtfulness, their true love of their spouses, and their desire to learn. 

Granny will be missed so dearly and as Matt put it; It just seems like the 30 years he had with her weren’t quite enough.  And as Winnie the Pooh says ‘How lucky am I to have had something that makes saying goodbye so hard’