Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree

I met her the night she flew to town to go to our wedding.

She was a small, petite thing with very pretty eyes.

She had already had her stroke, so I didn’t know her any different.

Between the wedding and the time of the birth of my daughter, I had only been with her a couple of times. She lived in Florida and us in California and then Key West.

I remember when she came to Key West after the baby was born. It was Palm Sunday and we were having the baby Christened. It was quite an event to have all the kids walking in with their palm branches and Scott and I following with Courtney in her Christening gown. When I laid Courtney in her arms for the first time, she looked and Scott and me and said “Oh, My! Isn’t she beautiful!”

She had me wrapped around her little finger ever since then.

She would sing songs to Courtney and whenever we were at the dinner table, all of her grandsons were to remove their hats.

According to her grandsons, she was the best Grandma on the face of the earth. She would make them homemade waffles and plop a scoop of chocolate ice cream in the middle of it. She kept Cracker Jacks in the pantry. She loved her boys!

Even when we visited this past Thanksgiving, and she had no idea who Courtney was, her face lit up when she saw her.

She passed away this morning. I am sad to think that I will never see those pretty eyes again, or hear her sing Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree.

But I am excited that she is in Heaven!

And I am positive when she got there, she looked around and said “Oh, My! Isn’t it beautiful!”