Preface: I love all of my relatives equally and while this post may seem slightly skewed toward one chip in a much larger bag, there are characteristics of each family member that make that individual special and by no means am I trying to discredit or lower the value of those invaluable tangible qualities.
End of Preface.

I love my grandmother Ruelle.

Close to eighty years old, she's always taken care of me, and I could never hope to reimburse her for all that she has done for me in only my twentieth year. My meager help around the house at various times throughout the year are put to shame by her day in and day out affection she doles out to our family and friends. Never have I met a kinder person, or a person that cherishes a long distance phone call like my grandmother, nor if I do, could ever they replace my grandmother's continuing lifetime of dedication. Even still, my immediate family comprised of my mother, sister, and father (son of my grandmother) have all been blessed with her presence far longer than I have, and can account for their own stories of her dedication to an individual's personal pursuits and character building.

It was my grandmother who made my dad's life progression possible, not slowing him down when the opportunity came to work and travel cross-country with his friend, essentially making this blog possible in the scheme of things. I am absolutely certain that there are more people out there who were touched, like this, by the qualities my grandmother has, than I will ever know about.

Unquantifiable, is the number of memories shared in the house upon the beach and so many more are shared, set, and scattered about in different locations. Ask me about them, and it may sound something like this:

Bored and alone at a far younger age I would sit in my grandparents living room watching cartoons and when confronted about my subsequent lack of activity my response was usually that there was simply nobody to play with. I'd like to point out at this point that these were the '90's so it was okay back then for her to say "well go outside and find somebody." My grandmother is the only person in my family that when any signs of boredom are shown, chores wouldn't be given, which may have been part of the reason why I was over at their home so much as a child. I was spoiled a great deal, and still am by my grandmother.

It was this proactive spirit of going out and finding somebody to play with that I will always remember and try to live by, with the same tenacity as my grandmother does. Every time I visit her she always seems to have more energy than me- which is either amazing or really sad on my part. Nike may have started using the "Just do it" ad campaign in 1988 but it was my grandmother who popularized it in our household. Mixed with her politician-like fist pump she fires back, "just do it," and whether or not you want to, you always end up feeling compelled to do it.

I'd like to think my grandmother knows me better than any other living being in this universe. She knows what kind of food I like (my belly throughout the years has been full of mac n cheese), all my strengths and weaknesses, and so much more.

I bring all this up because I went over to my grandparents house this morning and got into a long conversation with my grandmother about all that's troubling me...and I mean "all." For the first time in a very long time I was able to say EVERYTHING I wanted to say, and have it mean something to someone.

I'm tired of having pseudo-conversations, if you know what I mean.

Normally, I'm the one asking all the questions. It was so refreshing to have the roles reverse. My grandmother genuinely cares about me, one of the few women to have done so, and I just really appreciated the time I spent with her today venting and expressing all the little hiccups going on in my head.

Because the truth is, I am nervous about a lot of stuff. I don't talk to my parents about half the things I do or how I feel, so to have a person like my grandmother in my life to share and talk with at this point is truly amazing. For her to be able to comprehend and give me advice is more than I could have asked for.

Sure, I have certain friends that I talk about this material with- we swap stories and share in our self deprecating jokes. And sure, we try and give each other advice to our worldly problems, but for me, it's only sound advice when my grandmother says, "Just do it."

I'd like to reiterate my opening statement and say that I love my grandmother Ruelle.