One of the best parts about being a little girl was my
grandma, Grandma Gliatti. She was my dad’s mother and was everything a grandma
should be! I have to say that all of her grandchildren universally felt exactly
the same as me, Grandma G was the bomb! My goal was to one day be that kind of
grandma to a little girl if I ever had a granddaughter because she made such a
wonderful impression on my life!
When I was a kid, once a month off we would go to Grandma’s
house for a weekend. These times were some of the best times of my childhood.
Where some kids hated the trips to their grandparents finding them boring, mine
were sheer delightful. Grandma Gliatti laughed, cried when you told her a sad
story of someone hurting your feelings and gave you undivided attention. It never mattered to us what she had for us,
toys were not a concern at her house, just spending time with her.
Grandma was a cook who spent a lot of time in the kitchen.
When she cooked, it was never an issue for us to be in there with her. And
sampling her Italian cooking was allowed, in fact, encouraged! Being a great cook, wow, was that awesome! In
that kitchen, I heard stories about her life, Grandpa’s and my dad’s growing up
years. I so loved her story-telling.
When she died, it felt like a little piece of my childhood
died within me because she was the sunshine of my childhood, my favorite person
in the world. And then, before too long, my son and daughter in law had a
daughter! I found myself in the grandma
role!
By this time, I had switched back to my maiden name so I, in
fact, was a Grandma Gliatti too, as my grandmother, Josephine Gliatti. History
repeated itself sort-of. And I was
overjoyed from the minute I saw her, Ava Glasmeier, and held her. She was a
button of joy and smiles!
When I looked at Ava, as she was growing, I felt inside the
love my grandma had for me. I put the same passion in being a grandmother in my
relationship with my granddaughter so she would feel the same unconditional love.
When she came over, I gave her the undivided attention I got from my grandma. I
really don’t think a grandma can spoil their grandkids!
When Ava was younger, we baked cookies, cakes, brownies, oh
anything we could think of. She learned how to clean because she loved to role
play. We did all kinds of things like my Grandma Gliatti did with me. I even
talked to her a few times about my grandma so she would know I had a role model
to follow, I was not winging it in the grandma role.
The bond between us started very young and still is so strong.
We laugh at each other
