My Grandma Bollero passed away very early on Saturday morning. Although her body is no longer here, her spirit will forever stay with me. She has taught me so many things just by example. She is the most selfless person I know. She devoted her years to her husband, children, and grandchildren. There is not a time I can remember that Grandma did not show me love. She has taught me that love is the greatest gift you can give to someone.
Every single time I walked through her door I was greeted with a hug and a kiss. I can remember spending the night as a kid, waking up to the smell of their coffee, and sitting at their round kitchen table eating Cheerios with sliced bananas. To this day, cereal with sliced bananas is one of my favorite breakfasts. Grandma and Grandpa always had salami, fontinella cheese, and Italian bread on hand from
Charlie's Butcher Block. On the holidays, she would purposely hide salami for me in case it was gone by the time my family arrived! My Grandma is famous for her "toasted cheese" sandwiches. To this day, I have never had a better grilled cheese than hers. As an adult, I now realize the secret ingredient is a lot of butter in the pan but they were so delicious! What I wouldn't give to have one more toasted cheese with my Grandma and Grandpa.
My Grandma was one of my best friends. I have far too many fond memories to count. Her ultimate wish for me was happiness. She was happy when her family was happy. Long before I met Cody, she always said, "I just want to be able to see you get married". I am so blessed and thankful that she was alive and able to be at my wedding.
A few years back she had given my mom an old powder compact that my Grandpa had given her on their wedding day, October 15, 1949. My mom was to give it to me on my wedding day. She had a handwritten note in it telling me that she wanted me to have it. That compact and letter is so special to me.
Years ago, when my Grandma and Grandpa were in Italy they bought a rosary for me for me to carry on my wedding day. I had the rosary with me throughout my whole ceremony. I know I will always have two angels watching over me.
The day my mom got married my Grandma taped a lucky penny in her shoe. It must have worked because 30 years later my parents are still going strong. My mom took the penny from her shoe and taped it into mine on my wedding day. I will someday pass this on to my daughter.
These special moments are things I will never forget. I look to my grandparents love for one another as an example of how Cody and I should approach our marriage. Even if we can give each other half the love my grandparents gave to one another I know we will be just fine!
My Grandpa passed away in April of 2012 so he was only able to be at my wedding in spirit. He was a veteran and loved our country. He taught his grandkids the importance of how to handle a flag and more often than not there was a flag hanging from their front porch. If you look at the picture above you will see a flag. This was not staged and I do believe that it was a sign that he was there.
The pictures below are from my Grandma's 90th birthday party. She lived over 90 beautiful years. Even towards the end she always had a smile on her face and you could see the love in her eyes. She spent the last few years of her life living at Greenleaf Nursing Home. The staff has become like family to us and I think my Grandma was like family to them.
She was truly an inspirational woman. I have been blessed to have had her as a Grandma. I am so grateful that I was always able to spend time with her. I look back with no regret and will always move forward with her in my heart.
