Today would have been my Grandma Trudy’s 95th birthday. She was, and still is today, one of the most influential people in my life. We celebrated her 90th birthday in February 2007 with a beautiful dinner at the St. Regis in Orange County with family and friends from near and far. It was a very special evening that I will never forget, and one that I think of often since Trudy’s passing in January of 2008.
I should mention that Trudy wasn’t really my blood relative. She was my husband’s maternal grandmother. I had lost both of my grandmothers at a young age and had been most of my adult-life without the “grandmother” figure that I envied with my friends. About two years into dating my husband, it came time to meet his beloved grandmother; the true matriarch of a small, very close family. She flew to Texas to meet me and I was filled with nerves. Trudy was a devout Jewish New Yorker, with very strong beliefs about family, religion, politics, music, art, who was one of the first female graduates from Julliard as a young woman, and was still traveling the world into her 80s. I wasn’t sure what kind of impression Texan, Christian, early 20s me would make and I agonized over it for weeks. Our first lunch was simple and pleasant, and with the magic twinkle of her eyes and our parting hug, I knew we would be forever friends. And we were.
I’ll will always remember the beautiful prayer she gave at my wedding; the way her hugs always lasted a little extra time; the day I flew from a Las Vegas meeting to Orange County just so that we could have a piece of pie and an hour together; the way she welcomed me into her family and her heart; the beautiful Steinway she passed to me (her graduation gift from Julliard in 1933) which has been lovingly restored and sits in my home as a reminder of her each day; the smile on her face when she found out she’d be a great-grandmother; being in Manhattan with her, and seeing it through her eyes with so much history and all her memories; how she always wanted “alone time” with each member of the family; when she would call to add a book to my reading list and give me her review; how every conversation about her friends included commentary on their health or their driving capabilities (smile!); the garden of her home; our shared love of theater and classical music; her salmon salad; the first time she held my son and called him “sweet face”.
Our last day together was in November 2006 at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel. (If you’ve read my previous posts, you know that is one of my favorite hotels and this story is just one more reason why.) Our family was gathered together for the one-year anniversary of my father-in-law’s passing. The hotel has some Adirondack chairs that sit near a cliff, facing the ocean, and we were enjoying the beautiful day and just being together. Grandma Trudy was sitting, holding Bennett on her lap, letting him drop goldfish crackers all over her, and loving every minute of it.
I miss her so much, but this photo make me smile every time I see it, and reminds me of her love and that she is always watching over us.
