Grandma Jo

If Heaven has a bookstore (which I'm sure it does because many authors have gone there, and I can't imagine there wouldn't be a use for books), then my Grandma Jo is probably helping an angel find a good read right now. Or maybe she's catching up with Grandpa George and her parents. Maybe she'll even run into Grandma and Grandpa Young (I hear they were always friendly to each other, despite the in-law trope.)

Grandma passed away this Wednesday after a battle with cancer the lasted about a year. I've been living at her house half the week because she's closer to my school, so she has probably become my closest grandparent. She showed me that a lot of my quirks are genetic. Like the love of everything Beanie Baby. Or the dislike of carbonated beverages. Or the need to talk loud when we get excited. Other things I just had to scratch my head at. Like worrying about the dishwasher running properly. Or never having ice in a drink. Or washing her hair in the sink. Grandma was a little odd at times, but in a way that always made you smile.

Grandma was the queen of customer service. She worked at Berean Bookstore for a very long time (I want to say 17 years?). When the store was going to cut her benefits, she relocated to Family Christian Bookstore in Urbana. Her loyal customers followed her. It wasn't the store they liked, it was my Grandma's attention to other's needs. They knew that Grandma would try her best to find exactly what they wanted. Grandma was also a talker. She couldn't always figure out how to use her cellphone, but she maxed out her minutes in maybe the third month after getting it.

I'll miss my grandma, but I know that I will see her again. God did not create us to end at physical death. He created us to live eternally for him.