I SAW MY GRANDMA IN HEAVEN By Liz Gilbert One summer when I was young, my parents took my brother and I up to our grandparents' house in the upper peninsula of Michigan. They had a perfectly rustic cabin with the woods on one side and a beautiful lake on the other.
We would hike up the road to a lodge that kept a herd of elk, practice with the small 22 rifle, and everything else you could imagine doing in some of the most beautiful land in this country.
Yes, there were bugs the size of my head, "ew!", but I didn't care.
I loved it there.
I loved spending time with my grandparents. My grandma and I would play card games for hours at a time and my grandpa, dad, brother and I would take his small motorboat out on the lake to fish. The worst part was the lifejacket was always so darn uncomfortable. But that never detracted from the perfect silence of fishing with my boys.
Those were some of my best memories as a child. And I wouldn't trade them for all the money in the world.
My grandma died my sophomore year in high school, and it devastated my mother and I especially.
She was one of the kindest souls I've ever met. And she was a brilliant cook. She taught me to make meat loaf, cake, pies, and an amazing baked chicken.
I recently went up there again to visit my grandpa, who is just as amazing as my grandma was. I looked and looked and I could not find her recipe for baked chicken!
I tore apart the kitchen, and her desk, and even though she died 10 years ago, her things are all still in the same place, and I still couldn't find it.
When I got home I started looking around on the web, trying to find a recipe close to what my grandma used to make. After a few days, I had almost given up. No one seemed to make it the way she did.
Then, I stumbled upon this website www.best-chicken-recipes-ever.com and there it was!
Cream of Mushroom Chicken!
And the most amazing part, was their description. "My grandmother gave this recipe to me." It was like my grandma was talking to me from heaven.
I made it, and it was perfect. It tasted just like the way my grandma made it.
I sat at my dinning room table, and cried for a few minutes. I couldn't help myself.
I finally dried my eyes, smiled at my family, and finished eating.
That night I felt closer to my grandma than I had in years. And I wouldn't trade that feeling for the world either.
So, next time you go to make a special meal, ask your child or grandchild to come and help you. Because those memories will mean everything to them when they're older. And even though no one likes to think about it, we can't be here forever, and leaving your loved ones with memories that they can cherish is the best thing in the world.