After a while

 

After a while, you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul and you learn love doesn't mean leaning and 

company doesn't always mean security.

And you begin to learn that kisses aren't 

contracts and presents aren't always promises

and you begin to accept your defeats with your

 head up and your eyes ahead with the grace of 

a woman, not the grief of a child.

And you learn to build all your roads today 

because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain

 for plans and futures have a way of falling 

down in mid-flight.

After a while, you learn that even sunshine 

burns if you get too much

So you plant your own garden and decorate 

your own soul instead of waiting for someone 

to bring you flowers

And you learn that you really can endure, that 

you really are strong and you really do have 

worth and you learn and you learn

with every good-bye, you learn.

Author: Veronica Shoffstall

My gift from heaven...

 My granddaughter Jayleanna, on her most recent picture, looking absolutely gorgeous... she is her mother's spitting image... God bless her

this is her late mother, Getzia... my beautiful angel in heaven...

I feel incredibly blessed today.  Looking at my granddaughter's picture, and seeing how much she resembles her mother... I feel so grateful to God for this incredible gift.

I also want to remind her always that she is indeed her mother look-alike, but she is very special to me in her own right.  Because she is who she is, and what she means to me.  I want her to be herself always, and be happy and make good choices for herself.  I want the best for her always.

I love you, my beautiful, smart, and amazing granddaughter.  Forever...

💜 💜 💜

Age

 

I celebrate you

 

Yesterday you turned 18, my sweet Jayle, and I am so proud of you, and it seems like yesterday when you were just a child.  I am grateful for you, and I consider myself so lucky to have known you, because, since the first time I laid eyes on you, you stole my heart.  You made me a grandmother, dear child.  You made me so happy, that all I could do at that time was stare at you... my daughter was struggling to see you, and I was just standing there, mesmerized by you... she kept asking is she okay, does she have all her fingers, and I couldn't answer.  Then they brought you to her, and you looked so tiny, just like her when she was born... and she held you, so perfect, and beautiful... and today I am proud of you being here, of being my granddaughter, and for you being 18 years old.  And I pray that you will be blessed with the wisdom to make the right choices for you.  And that you will always be safe, happy, and at peace.  Today, I celebrate you, my sweet granddaughter.

I am getting old...

 

Jayle, at almost 18 years old... recent photo

This is my first granddaughter, Jayleanna, or Jay, what she prefers to be called.  She has grown beautifully into her mother's spitting image.  

I am so proud to call you my granddaughter, sweetie.  You are an amazing human being, and you have other wonderful qualities besides physical beauty.  You are smart, kind, and generous.  You are very tall and you have beautiful skin. And I will stop because I can talk about you forever; that's how proud of you I am.  And, last but not least,  you will be going away to college soon.  This grandma is getting old... it seems like the other day you were just 3 years old.  In the blink of an eye, you will be 18 this coming October.  I have said this a million times over the years, but where did the time go?

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This is my daughter Getzia, at 22 when she passed on...

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This is Jayle, at 3 years old

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A very wise quote

Not all those who wander