Gratitude for Grandmas

This post was prompted by the Grandmother Power blogging campaign.

I am grateful for my grandmas.

My childhood associations with them are of hand-stitched quilts, soft crocheted afghans, sugar cookies, soda pop, playing cards and dominoes, Easter egg hunts and plastic Christmas trees.

They both live in central Texas, and I was blessed to be able to visit them frequently growing up and as an adult too. I’m excited to introduce them to their new great-granddaughter, Jade, when we visit next month. Though both are in declining health, they are still so wonderful and loving.

My maternal grandmother is Virginia Gracia Gonzales. Here is one of my favorite photos of her as a young woman:

Wasn’t she glamorous? Grandma Gonzales turned 90 years old on March 18. She has Alzheimer’s and it has been sad to see her memory fade away over the years. She’s been on the decline ever since her beloved, my grandpa Gonzales , passed away in 2004. Fortunately, she is able to live in her own home in San Antonio still, thanks to her full-time caretaker, Antonia. Here they are in a more recent snapshot:

My paternal grandmother is Marie Krischke Fajkus. She’s a country mouse, having been born and raised in Schulenberg, Texas, a rural community between Houston and San Antonio. Here she is with me as a little girl in the early eighties:

Grandma Fajkus turned 88 last December 5. Although she now lives in a nursing home, her neighbor is one of her seven sisters. Here she is with one of her other sisters, Francie:

]Both of my abuelitas were married young, raised three children, held down the home front when their husbands were fighting in WWII, and have always been an example of strong femininity for me. For them, I am eternally grateful.