Mothers Day: The Most Fashionable Grandmother
A blog post republished from 2013
My family and I are traveling this weekend to Virgina to lay to rest the ashes of my grandmother, Maggie, as we refer to her. She was the most lovely, spunky, caring, grandmother. She taught me how to do important things like read a good book, take a good soaky bath, walk on the beach, and drink hot tea. Maggie was there for every important occassion and every non-important occassion. And not only was she there, but she was DRESSED.
Maggie taught me about style. She taught me to love shoes and she fostered my love for bathing suits. She was the "bathing suit grandmother"- she dubbed herself this because she would buy us our bathing suits each summer- the ones we really wanted....ones that my mom would probably not have bought me:)
The time I spent shopping with Maggie and my mom was priceless. We laughed over the outrageous printed blouse and squealed with delight over the perfect pair of jeans. We shopped for important occassions together- like prom dresses, my wedding dress, the mother and grandmother dresses for family weddings, baby clothes, etc. Some people may say that this is all very materialistic but I learned life in those dressing rooms. We talked about important things like school, boys, God, family, giving, love, jobs...the list goes on. She taught me generosity.
About 8 years ago, before I had kids, she saw a Nordstrom flyer that advertised a leopard coat. She was convinced that I needed to have it. When I went to visit her in Charlotte she had my mom take us to Nordstrom to try it on. I really wasn't all that excited about it, but she was. Then the magic happened....I put the coat on and it was lovely...the best coat a girl could dream for! A beautiful Charles Gray of London leopard coat with chocolate brown lining. It is the perfect coat for all occassions- pair it with jeans or a dress and feel like gold. And she bought it for me- she knew it would be beautiful on me- she was my grandmother...
Every time I put this coat on I think of Maggie. I think of her love wrapping me up in my perfect coat.