What was said FOR me

These are the words I wrote, that the Rabbi spoke, at my grandmother's service. They barely reflect what I felt and still feel.

"I loved my grandma, and I was not alone. The first of her grandchildren and her only granddaughter, I considered myself the luckiest and still do. When my grandfather passed in 1983 I mourned for my grandmother as well - this was the first time I had ever experienced the death of someone I loved, and I knew it would not be the last.

But now that my Grandma is gone it's not any easier. I'm a grown woman with children of my own, children whom she adored. I consider them the luckiest of her great-grandchildren.

My grandma was wonderful. I know a lot of people say that about theirs, but mine truly was. She loved people, animals and life. She wore a smile everywhere we went, and everyone who knew her, loved her. She helped me to discover our ancestry and I will bring the gifts she gave me forward to my own children.

My grandmother was not a particularly religious woman. But she enjoyed our annual Rosh hashanah, hanukah and passover gatherings, ending every toast anyone made with the saying, "and a little money wouldn't hurt."

Whenever things got heated at family gatherings, and in our opinionated family how could they not? she would always tell me, "Amy, look away. Just look away."

My grandmother and I would just look at each other and feel the love pass between us. My grandma was pricless, a true joy, whom I loved with all of my heart and thensome."

And there was a post-piece add-in: the Rabbi mentioned for me her love of General Hospital, Russell Stover chocolates, and watching beauty pageants with me when I was a little girl.