My parents moved from a tiny village to another area just five mile away
but it seemed like hundreds of miles to a five year old that had always
been surrounded by Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles.

My Maternal Grandmother had snow white hair and wore it pulled back
in a bun at the nape of her neck. I had never seen anyone else with hair
like that so I was so happy to see a lady in our new area with white hair
pulled back. I assumed her name was Grandma too and with a loud voice
I called out "HI GRANDMA".


My Step-Mom came running outside to see who I was yelling at. She
saw the lady and began apologizing for my outburst. The Dear elderly
lady laughed and with a twinkle in her eyes, she said I am Mrs. Curfman
and she can call me Grandma anytime.


From that day, I would forever call her Grandma Curfman and learned
many things at her knees. She taught me all about flowers and being
kind to animals because they all were a gift from God for our enjoyment.
She took time to listen to the babblings of a skinny, rambunctious kid,
and made me feel important.


As Spring burst on our Pennsylvania landscape, I noticed a wide swath
of greenery popping up in Grandma's garden followed by a profusion
of vibrant colored tulips. There were so many colors that I had no
names for and was taught by this gentle lady.


Every day, I would walk two houses down to her little green bungalow
and look deep inside the tulips and was totally awed by the vision I saw.
As Summer came on the tulips faded and suddenly to my eyes I was
treated to vivid colored Zinnias with so many petals that looked like
little round pin cushions.


Then I noticed a tall bush like flower that was a hot pink and had a
most delicious scent. I found them to be my favorite because the
fragrance changed from delicate in the morning to heady by evening.


As I aged and started high school my beloved Grandma fell and broke
her hip. Her son was not well and had to put her in a home for elderly
folks. I wrote to her every couple of weeks and after I married and
moved away I continued to write at least once a month and occasionally
I stopped at the home she resided in to visit with her.


Grandma was always so excited to see me and although she was blind
now, she always knew my voice immediately and she had a small stack of
my letters tied up in blue ribbon beside her bed and she told me that
the nurses would read them to her as they arrived.


I learned compassion, love, kindness to human and animal life and a great
love of colorful flowers. Grandma is with Jesus now but I recall of her
longing to "Go Home" to Him and someday I will see her again.


I am in my late 60's now and several years ago I saw some hot pink
flowers that looked vaguely familiar and as I inhaled the fragrance,
I knew immediately they were like Grandma had. I now enjoy those
flowers called "PHLOX" and every summer as they bloom, I feel closer
to a precious lady I called Grandma Curfman.

©Ann Marie Fisher
August 27,2009