Mother's Day Without Grandma Lola

 I hope everyone had a blessed Mother's Day.  This year was bittersweet for the Robinson Family, as it was our first Mother's Day without Howard's mom, Lola who passed away on September 28, 2009.  She was a very vivacious, pretty Christian lady with a wonderful laugh and a great sense of humor.  She always had a pan of dressing, some greens and a sweet potato pie or two in the freezer....just in case!  She was super-organized (or was it OCD??!!).  She had picked out her dress to buried in, written her will & obituary, completed all the details of her funeral and had all her business fixed years before she was even diagnosed with Ovarian cancer in 2008.

   When I first met her and my future father-in-law, Oddie, they welcomed me with open arms and made me feel like their own daughter.   Grandmommy, or Grandma Lola, as my children affectionately called her, had an adventurous streak, and would even ride the roller coasters, and other scary rides, at Cedar Point with the kids!  She was lots of fun and loved to tell a good joke, though she usually couldn't quite get the punch line just right.  She'd slap her knee and let out her loud, infectious laugh anyway!  She never lost her charming, lilting Mississippi accent:  it was very melodic.  (I can still hear her voice in my head.) And if you were trying to keep a secret, Grandma Lola was not the person to tell it to:  she couldn't hold water!  Yet, she was trustworthy.   

   She and my father-in-law called me Robbie......boy, do I miss hearing them call me that.  They, and one other person (Ray,a co-worker of mine at the Kalamazoo County Jail) were the only folks to ever call me Robbie.   All three have since passed away. 

   So this Mother's Day was our first without Grandma Lola.  Howard & I opted to spend the day celebrating the gift and miracle of life with my beautiful mom, Quella and the Lockett family. My sister, Cynthia, hosted the entire family in her lovely home and we had a wonderful time reminiscing, and strolling down the memory lane of our childhood, growing up with such strict (Thank you, Jesus) parents! 

   I'm thankful for the 30+ years i was blessed to know and love Lola Alexander-Robinson.  I thank her for giving life to the man who would become my husband and the father of our two children.  Grandma Lola taught me so much and I think about her every day. 

 Celebrate life and don't put off today for tomorrow....because one day there won't be a tomorrow!  LOVE, LIVE, LAUGH......Celebrate!  And, greatest of all really get to KNOW JESUS!  He will help you get through the trials, tibulations and troubles that are a guarantee in this life.

Robyn