Uffda

Uffda
Originally uploaded by Anantya.



Dear Grandma,



You stayed as long as you could.

You did more for free than most do for pay.

No stranger to loss and never spared the insults of time's passing

traditions and arriving contradictions,

you loved anyway,

and forgave anyway,

and served anyway.



No bit of terrible world news, neighborhood strife or family struggle

failed to touch your caring heart and frustrated sensibilities as you

marveled aloud in those exasperated, brave, longing-suffering and

treasured chuckling refrains:

- "what-in-the worrrrld ?!"

- "ohhhh golly"

- "my word!"

- "heavens to..."

and, on the lighter side, to help us chuckle too:

- "oh ishhh!"

- "well, for dumb!"

- "uffda nemmen!"



Gosh we miss ya gram.

Nothing's gotten easier since you left. Well, not much or for many.

- our president: "well, for dumb!"

- his war: "what-in-the WORRRrrld are we doing there?!"

- pollution and waste: "heavens, what ARE they THIKing?! Back when i

was a girl....."

- neighborhood/racial struggle: "ohhhh gosh, and they are such nice

people..."

- family stress: "Well my word,...why can't he/she/they just get

along...

...but, you taught us to never give up and that love, kindhearted

tollerance and hard work for worthy causes would help us find our way.



May your move beyond the trials of this confounding, precious,

precarious, promising life (you lived so well) find you now in a

state of deepest, deserved peace. And never seeming to mind yet one

more chore for any of us grandkids (..god, what we wouldn't give now

to do one for you), could I ask you to please put in a good word for

those of us still longing, praying and working hard to see this all

come out right down here?



...Uffda, do we need it!



Thanks gram,

"tates"