Food for the Soul

Sometimes we need to take a step back. Sometimes we have to take a step back. I am stepping back from the food blog for this post, out of necessity and desire, in order to post a little food for thought. I lost my grandmother this past March (pictured in the photo above, signed with a loving note to her husband, my grandfather), after she could no longer fight the tough year-long battle against a severe form of lung cancer (and no, she never smoked a day in her life). Will we ever really know what causes cancer? With these thoughts in my head, I must admit that I have been choosing more organic produce over regular, recently...

Over these past few weeks, as my mother, my younger sister and I (along with my grandfather looking on) have dug deep into my grandmother's dressers and drawers, we have revealed her soul, and have reflected on her life. She was known by her friends and family to be one of the most giving people on this earth. She never had much, growing up in Oklahoma, while raising her brothers and sisters for her bed-ridden mother. However, she would have given you the shoes on her feet in an instant, if you wanted or needed them, as she did literally for me and my sister.

Her spirit was cultivated by enduring the hardships that attempted to consume her. Growing up with just enough money to live, she had some of the highest academic achievements but no money to attend college. She narrowly escaped death twice. Once, in a head-on car collision at age 26 (see the article below) breaking her neck,

and then again when she survived breast cancer (and a mastectomy) 25 years later. With her positive spirit and her lively outlook on life, she has left her footprint on our hearts forever. However, with all of those experiences, come many emotions, many of which she did not share....until after she was gone.