Today is my grandmother’s 80th birthday. For her party last week, we were each asked to write something to her. It was all collected in a scrapbook, and I had a bit of a tough time with it. You see, I took the time several years ago to write each of my grandparents a letter. I don’t really remember what I wrote, and my mother refused to break in to her house and peek. Instead, I went with compiling a few of my favorite lessons from Nana:

1. Noodles taste better when they’re homemade with love.
2. Every little girl needs a new dress for Easter.
3. You can never have too much food or too many guests at the table.
4. Preserving produce for the winter is a team effort.
5. The candy jar should always be full.
6. Cross-stitching keeps your hands busy, but crosswords keep your mind sharp.
7. Babies are always a blessing.
8. It doesn’t matter what day you celebrate a holiday, as long as you’re with family.
9. If the basement is flooded, move the party upstairs.
10. Being part of a couple doesn’t have to mean losing yourself.

Happy birthday, Nana! I love you.