Woman You Admire

Today's journal prompt is:

Write about a woman in your own family whom you admire.


Well I'm nos sure that grandma L is in my "family" or not but we adopted each other so I'm going to count it.  I married her grandson after her own advice not to.  Things ended badly but since continue to be a friend and mentor to me until the day she died.  She was the best great-grandmother to my son and was he caregiver until he was 4 years old and she was in her 80's.  When I started dating my husband I took him over to meet Gram she loved him immediately and even gave me advice on how to treat him right.  She was young when she lost her mother after the birth of her baby sister and the day she turned 14 the legal age at that time her father pulled her out of school to be the caregiver for her family.  She had only a few weeks more of school to graduate from grammar school and he still made her quit.  Despite this she continued to read and learn and was very literate on many subjects.  She married young and had three children right away.  She helped her husband run a diner in Brooklyn and was feisty enough even as a young wife to stand up to anyone.  She saw the lost of everything one day after her husband's gambling had gotten out of control.  And only the discovery of a fourth pregnancy gave her the courage to give him another chance.  He never made the same mistake again and they ended up opening up a diner on Long Island until they retired and moved to Florida.  When her daughter was widow with four young children she helped to raise them as well.  And when she found out everything I had been going through with my ex she said she wished she had known so she could have helped.  After I remarried she supported my husband's decision to adopt my son and even persuaded my ex to sign the paper and allow her grandson to have a safe and stable home.  When I got pregnant she offered to buy us a new crib because she knew my ex had pawned the old one.  We quick went and got one so she wouldn't feel obligated but she still showed up the next week with the crib mattress.  She never showed any difference in her love for my second born then she did for my first born despite the fact that the were not related by "blood".  That never mattered to her in the least.  Family was family and she considered me and mine family.  Her was sad to see her body failing and it wasn't until the very end that her mind also started to slip.  Thankfully, she didn't suffer for too long and her strength of character will always be an inspiration to me.