Walking into a Time Capsule

As mentioned here, last weekend Chris and I headed south to enjoy some family time. It was Abby's 1st birthday (seriously, has it already been a year?! I will give y'all the deets on her birthday bash in another post) and Meme's belated memorial.

Let me start off by saying THANK YOU for all the prayers. I held it together pretty well. The moment I lost it was when Granddad told the story of how him and Meme started dating and then he said, "...and from that moment on it was just me and her, for 64 years." Yup, the flood gates opened and I forgot to wear waterproof mascara. Luckily my Mr. brought along his hankie; he said he knew I would shed some tears bawl my eyes out. Boy, does he know me?!?

Not going to lie, it was tough, but happy all at the same time. At one point Granddad looked at my wedding rings and said, "I might need those back to give to someone else!" Ya, right buddy! We both started laughing. Seeing him laugh and in good health is more than I could ever ask for. Gosh, I love that man.

For decorations my aunt spread out hundreds of photos, journals, spiral notebooks, books, etc. that my Meme had hidden away for yearssss. It was such an amazing experience getting to go through all the albums and journals and take a step back in time. We were able to take home any pictures we wanted. What special memories to be able to hold onto forever.

Here are some pictures of treasures displayed at the party. We could not believe how organized Meme was. Almost every picture had a name and date on the back. Albums were organized by vacation, journals had perfect handwriting from cover to cover.

Look at Meme rockin' the Gucci!! That must be where I got my expensive taste from!

I adore this picture. Look how gently Granddad is feeding her. Nowadays it is who can shove more cake in the other person's face. Men had such respect for woman back then and this pictures shows that. Oh and look at that dress...FAB.

This is one of her journals. In the first couple paragraphs it talks about how Meme's sister dropped Meme when she was little...like I said, she wrote about everything! And her cursive was flawless, as was she.

This stud right her is my Dad. Elementary school stud. Ha!

Remember when I mentiond I won Little Miss California? Well here I am with all my trophies and someone forcing a tiara on my head. I look thrilled, don't I?

Here I am. I sure was pale. And had very blonde/strawberry blonde hair. And my Mom was obviously a killer stylist.

Meme saved almost all of mine and Sam's articles where we were featured in the newspaper. Here I am with my best friend, Alisa, in high school. She was my MOH (maid of honor!).  

Was Meme not GORG?!? Those blue eyes made Granddad melt.

So beautiful.

Meme always displayed this collage of all her grandkids. I am in the clown suit (super cool), in the bottom left corner with my aunt (and no front teeth), and in the top two pictures with my brother and Bob (my haircut).

The time spent remembering Meme this weekend was perfect. She was so loved, and still is. She influenced so many lives. I can only hope to be half the daughter, mother, wife, and grandmother that she was. She was the most amazing person ever and I miss her each and every single day.

Love you Meme. So, so much.

-Sarah