Medora Bertha Kincaid Crosby

I know that pretty much all of you who read this blog, have no clue as to who this person is, and you probably don't even care. And that's fine. But for me, this is one of the greatest women who ever lived. She was my grandmother. Well, not in the eyes of most people. You see, I never knew my real dad, and when I was about 2 months old, my mother married a man, whom she later divorced, and this was his mother. She was to me, and will be forever, known as my grandmother. She was the only grandmother I really ever knew. My mom's mother died when I was young ,and the only faint memory I have of her was that she would make my sister and I bread and butter sandwiches and sprinkle sugar on top (we loved them).

But my "grammy" was different. She didn't care if we (my twin and I) were blood related. She loved children and we were hers and she was ours. That was one stability my sister and I could hold on to. I've been thinking about her a lot lately, I guess because it was mentioned in the news that Patrick Swayze, the actor, has pancreas cancer, and this is what finally took my grandmother from this earth life in June of 1990.

This one women had a major impact on my life, and I guess in some sort of way, I wanted to honor her and do my part to keep her alive in those who still live. Once it's in writing, I guess my hope is that years later ,even after I'm gone, someone will come across this and read about this wonderful woman and say, that she was loved and remembered. It's funny, we remember people who are rich or famous, or those who made a "difference" in the worlds eyes (for the good and the bad), but it's very seldom that we hear about just an average every day man or woman who is remembered, not because they changed the world in some "grand" way, but just because they made a difference in one person's life, one average persons life. That's what my grandmother was for me. She is the grandmother that I want to be and the mother too. Even as I write this, it is hard for me not to cry a little and then laugh. I miss her.

So who was this wonderful woman? She was born May 2, 1922 in Amesbury, MA, where she was raised. She was known by most as Dora. To many she may have just been average in beauty, but not to me. To me, she was beautiful. She went to nursing school and worked at a hospital taking care of sick babies until she married my grandfather Richard Crosby in 1942. She waited for him to return home from the war (WWII) and wrote letters to him while he was a soldier. When my sister and I was older, she shared the letters that she kept in her wonderful hope chest. She was a mother of one son, who never had any children of his own. It's funny how the Lord works, because I think He knew that my grammy needed my sister and I as much as we needed her.

She was a fun, loving woman. She loved the Lord very much. Most of the memories I have the about going to church was with her. I remember watching her read from the Bible, and reading to my sister and I telling us that God loved us very much and so did Jesus. She gave me my first Bible, which I still have.

She took care of my sister and I when we were little, while my mom worked, until my mom divorced her son. It is funny, after the divorce, we never saw her son much, but my grandmother fought to be able to keep in contact with us, and I'm glad she did. We didn't get to see her for about 8 months, but then finally, my mom gave in, and until we moved to FL when I was in the 5th grade, we stayed with my grandparents every weekend. One year, we even spent an entire summer in FL with them.

My grammy never learned how to drive, but that did not keep her tied down. She walked and she would take us with her. She would take us for long walks in the woods of New Hampshire, but would tell us to never go in them without her. I remember, as a child about 4 yrs. old, going into the woods once to find her some holly berries, and getting a spanking from her for being disobedient. I remember hiding behind the woodpile and crying from being hurt, but not from the spanking, but because I thought I disappointed her. She later came and found me crying and hugged me and told me that she punished me because I disobeyed and that if anything ever happened to me, she would be heartbroken. The only other time I remember her getting "cross" with me was time I said a cuss word and she washed my mouth out with soap. I never did that again. YUCK!

I have so many great memories, it would take me a long time to write about them all, but I would like to tell a few so you can see more of who she was. She would sit and brush my hair for what seemed to be hours into little curls around her fingers. She would hold me and my sister in her arms, even when we got to be big girls and rock to us. I'll forever remember her singing, 10 Little Indians or Go Tell Aunt Rhody (I was so glad to hear Timmy Abell put this on one of his cd's). She would help us make cookies, read us stories, and she would play with us too. Not just for a few minutes to say that she did, but for a long time because she wanted to. I remember one time in particular when she played hide and seek (this was a favorite). My sister and I were hiding and my grandmother was chasing us and tripped over a log. Most grandmothers would have gone back inside because she did get quite a bruise, and quit playing, but not grammy. She laughed with us and then got back up and started playing some more. She loved to play jump rope with us too. She also had a doll collection that was wonderful. Most people would never let children touch such a valuable collection, but not grammy. As long as we were careful, we could play with them. She would take them out of the glass case and give them to us, often playing too. She would have tea parties with us. We never were bored, and to think we never watched TV.

She instilled a love for learning in me too. She would practice with me and my sister for hours memorizing poems, doing math workbooks, teaching us how to make "homemade glue" and the such. When we moved, I unpacked a box from my childhood and found a book that she had made for me out of magazine cutouts. It had the sweetest note in it. That was the kind of things she did. She took us fishing in the river behind her house. Not with real fishing poles, but ones we made from long sticks, string and hooks. We would dig up the worms and then catch the fresh water rainbow trout. Then we would take them home, clean them, and fry them up and they were so good.

A recent memory that I have of my grammy came about a few years ago when Ariel brought me a book to read to her. The book was a hard bound copy of "The Secret Garden" that I received for Christmas in 1987 from my grandmother. She had placed a note in it. I forgot about that note until Ariel brought the book to me and out it fell. The part of the handwritten note that touched me the most read, "Maybe someday your kids will enjoy your reading it to them just as I used to read to you girls, remember when I did?" And they did.

Oh what memories. She was such a wonderful blessing in our lives, a true tender mercy from the Lord. I wish every child could have a grandmother like that.

A few years back, I took her name to the temple. I would have taken it sooner, but I was told that you really should get permission, if you are not a blood relative. But then I thought, I don't care about "blood", and I think the Lord understood. I wanted to do all of her work myself and try to give back just a little bit of what she gave me. I will never forget that day, for I know that her spirit was there. I could feel her there, and I look forward to the day when I can be reunited with her and feel her arms give me one of the warm loving hugs that she was so good at giving. What a great day that will be!

If you did take the time to read this, and if you have a grammy that meant something to you, and if she is living, go visit her or call her and tell her how much she means to you. She probably already knows, but I have found, no one minds hearing it again. If she is not on earth, take some time to write about her and let the rest of the world know what she meant to you. As for me, I just want to say, "Grammy, I love you".