A Life Well Lived

First, I apologize for my absence. April was a very long month. With the high points some of the very highest I've experienced and the low points being deeply low, but cushioned by the surround of loved ones.

Second I apologize if the following video causes lag time for anyone.

On April 4th, 2011, I lost my last grandparent. On Saturday, May 7th, we interred her with my grandfather and said goodbye. My Gram Kelly was 94 years old and through her long life, she had many rolls and went by many names.

Helena, Lena, Lee, Mom, Grams, Gramma, Mrs. Kelly- and my personal favorite, when in the company of her sisters for their annual pilgrimage to Florida, Golden Girl.

When I was small, my grandparents has a flood. My mother rescued as many family photos as she could. My grandmother told her to set them aside for me. Recently, as I sat on the floor for hours sorting through those photos, I gleaned fragments of an entire lifetime.

Nearly a century of her memories, her favorite moments recreated themselves for me. She was no longer just my Gramma with silver hair and glasses. No longer just the Gramma who bowled on Fridays, who square danced with my Grampa, or made me watch boring Nova specials on PBS when she babysat me. She had become so much more.

I met the Lena I had never known- the daughter and sister, the beach lover, the camera flirt, the fashion maven, the young mother, the proud wife and the beautiful woman.

This is a collection of my favorite photos of my Gram and her life, well lived.