"Hi Sugar"

"Hi Sugar"....that's exactly how my Grammy would answer her phone. My sweet, wonderful, perfectly tiny little Grammy. She tucked neatly beneath the crook of my arm, reminding me I am tall for all the littler people of the world, that she wished she could be 5 foot 10 like me. She smelled like baby powder, lavender, line-dried sheets, and chocolate chip cookies. In the morning when I'm washing dishes and the breeze catches the curtains that once hung in her kitchen, the smell wafts over me, and I hear, "Hi Sugar".

I always miss Grammy most at Easter. This was the holiday she lived for. With all the hoopla of Thanksgiving and Christmas, Easter was a relished holiday, one of renewal, forgiveness, sacrifice, love. Christ is the sole reason behind Easter. I know this, and I am ever grateful for His loving sacrifice. But, alas, I still miss my Grammy.

I talk to her just like I talk to God. She was a God-fearing woman, a cornerstone of faith and strength. She demonstrated how grace is a woman's greatest quality; that love and kindness speak volumes when juxtaposed alongside loud and overbearing. And with each Easter, I am reminded of life's great loves--the family we cherish while we can on Earth, and the unbreakable, unmeasurable, insurmountable love of one Man.

Hold 'em close. Love 'em from miles away. And thank You for giving your Son, and for them, and the years worth of "Hi Sugar"s.

Have a most blessed Easter everyone.