Margaret Sue

Margaret. My great grandmother, my dad's grandmother, and my grandpa's mom. I've always felt a connection with her. She passed away when I was a baby, but I remember looking at my mom's wedding album at four years old, finding Grandma "Toots" (as in "tootsy") and pointing to her. I'm pretty sure she is one of my guardian angels. It's my only explanation for feeling a bond to her when I really have no memory of her. Before we found out Henry was a boy, we had Margaret picked for our little girl's name. We are glad our little Maggie bares her name.

Margaret was born in Switzerland and left with her mom and sister to America when she was a teenager. They traveled by boat to America, then by train to Utah and eventually ended up in California. My dad recalls her as a stern but loving grandmother who welcomed her grandchildren with root beer floats, gave amazing head scratches, and never yelled at or told on him (when he and his twin did things that would have gotten his parents upset with them). She was a strong woman who raised her children well and made many sacrifices for her posterity.

Sue. My mother. Where to begin...I've been trying to write this section for over a week now, and nothing seems to be good enough.

I've always had a great relationship with my mom. Always. She's been a best friend throughout my life. I hope I can have the same relationship with my children that she has with each of her kids. She is continually teaching me through her words and actions about being thoughtful, going the extra mile to help others, and how to sponge bath a newborn, among a million other things.

As a child I remember playing games together, cooking together, and talking about any and everything. Now we continue to play games together, cook together, and talk. I love going to her house and I always hate to leave it. Sitting and chatting (about "nothing," my dad would say) is my favorite thing to do with her. She is always available to listen or spend time with me and my children. Like Grandma "Toots," she is a strong woman who raised her children well and is willing to make sacrifices for her family. My mom would do anything for anybody. In one word, she is selfless.

Maggie Sue has great women in her life to look up to. And I hope as she learns about her great-great grandma and grandma that she will come to love and revere them both the way I do.