RIP Grandma Norma

A little break from the arts to honor my dear, sweet Grandma, Norma Ploen, who died at the age of 90 early Saturday morning at her nursing home in Davenport, Iowa. I am happy for her that she passed on - it has been many, many years since she lived the kind of life she wanted to live, and I'm happy to know she's been set free to waltz to her heart's content. But it's still a sad occasion, and I wish I could be with my family in Iowa today.

The pics: This is Norma in 1932, when she was 16 years old, and below, Grandma with my mom in 2002, when we celebrated mom's 60th in Durant, Iowa, down the street from where mom grew up.

Since I grew up in Texas and she lived in Iowa, where she raised my mother and six uncles, I didn't get to spend near as much time with Grandma as I would have liked when I was growing up. But the couple of times each year I did see her were pure bliss - she was absolutely the epitome of sweetness, all love and patience, gentleness and humor. I last saw her almost a year ago, on her 90th birthday, and knew that was probably our final visit.

Here, in no particular order, are ten great memories I have of dear Grandma Norma:

10. She asked me last year if I had a boyfriend, and when I told her that I had a husband, she said "Well then you'd better not have a boyfriend!"

9. When she finally met my husband, she looked at him and, sounding like a 17-year-old, said "Ooh who's that handsome guy?"

8. When I was little she taught me to take care of my nails - I had the longest, prettiest, reddest fingernails in the fifth grade!

7. Endless games of pinochle at the kitchen table when I was a kid - how many people can get an eight-year-old totally sold on pinochle?

6. Spending time with her and Steve. One of grandma's six sons, Steve, tragically died when he was 17 in a car accident in, I think, 1968. A couple of years later, another local boy named Steve Muller was severely brain damaged in a car accident. Norma helped take care of him for the next 30 years in his home - Norma and Steve's mother Verna were absolute angels in my eyes, taking care of his every need. I loved watching Grandma make him laugh. She always said that taking care of Steve made her feel like she had a second chance and taking care of her lost son.

5. Walking to Tom Thumb with Grandma when I was maybe eight years old. Don't know why this left such an impression, I guess it just felt very adventurous, walking the couple of miles to the store with my Grandma.

4. I spent a couple of weeks with Grandma and Grandpa Hank in 1981. They still lived in the same huge, amazing cool old house where they raised 7 kids. My cousin Erin and I spent every second of the day exploring that house. I can still smell the musty attic, where we scavenged our parents' old toys.

3. Grandma convincing me, in that same summer of '81, to try fresh radishes from her garden, doused in salt. I liked it! She followed those with fresh, hot rice krispy squares. Bless her!

2. Riding from Iowa to Texas with Grandma, Grandpa and cousin Erin that summer - we drove Hank crazy giving the "honk your horn" sign to the passing truckers all the way down I-35. But Grandma thought it was pretty hilarious.

1. I have a vague memory of visiting the "Ewing Ranch" of "Dallas" fame with her when I was wee young. Do I actually remember her wearing a cowboy hat?

A bonus one...when I visited them in the summer of '94, just after I graduated college, a bumper crop of corn had just been harvested (this was Iowa, remember). By this time Grandma and Grandpa had sold that cool house and moved into a little condo, but she still made the same amazing meals out of that little kitchen, and we had the world's best corn at dinner every night. I can still hear her say "This is the best corn ever!" with such delight at each meal. That was the epitome of Norma - finding something to enjoy and celebrate in the smallest of things.

Click here if you want to read Grandma's bio - it's very brief, I guess her achievements (raising 7 amazing kids, bringing nothing but delight and happiness to everyone who knew her, being a GREAT bowler) were too far under the typical obit writer's radar. I love you Grandma!