Hello Fairy Wonderland !   

My name is Gramma Dolly.  Well...  It’s actually Valencia.  And my great granddaughter, Cambel, has Valencia as her middle name.   When she was little, she became known as “Dolly” at her daycare center.  They said it was because she looked like one of the dolls the kids played with.  So, when I was little, maybe I looked like a dolly, too!                                            

I lived on earth for 53 years, and then I became one of God’s angels and moved to heaven.  I miss my kids and grandkids, but now I watch over them from above and see that they are doing good things for the world.  I enjoyed teaching them to share and to be kind to others, even when you don’t get everything you want. 

While on earth, I enjoyed many things – cooking spaghetti or saucy sandwich rolls, baking chocolate chip cookies or buttery cinnamon muffins, sewing clothes, and watching sports – especially my sons playing basketball and football, and running in track.  I loved cheering them on.  And they were good athletes!

Our family dinner table was a special place.  And whenever the day fell on the birthday of one of our seven children, they got to choose their favorite dish and I would make it for supper.  Our table was a bit crowded with our family of nine, but we always found room for one more.  We just squeezed in another chair at the table.  On “high school football” days, we were oftentimes joined by our son’s friend who lived on a farm outside of town.  He couldn’t get home on the bus after school and be back at school in time to play the game.  So, I would make Sloppy Joes and Red Jello with bananas and we would eat early, so the boys could get back to the high school and into their football uniforms by game time.  

Most days, I would begin cooking in the morning and my kids loved the aroma of Italian spaghetti sauce or freshly baked bread that filled the house.  I liked baking chocolate chip cookies, too.   Dessert was one of my favorites and after many meals, you may hear me say, “Now… if I just had a little something, cold and creamy, I’d be satisfied!”     Yes! I loved ice cream!  In fact, at Christmas time, we would pull out the old ice cream maker, and the entire family would take turns “turning the crank” until the creamy liquid became thick vanilla ice cream. Yum!

My husband loved music.  He played the accordion and the piano and our daughters sang songs.  When they were about your age – between 6 and 11 years old, they started singing “on stage”, so I would spend days at my sewing machine, making “matching” dresses for the girls to wear.  One that I remember was a blue plaid dress with a “sailor” collar, but I sewed many dresses over the years.  

And, I made POODLE skirts!  Yes, they were very popular! All the girls in school were wearing them.  And, as my older daughters outgrew their poodle skirts, the skirt was passed down to a younger sister, to wear. I LOVED fashion, and did my best to keep up with what was “in style.  Sewing clothes for myself and my daughters was a good way to be “in style” without spending lots of money.   It helped when I worked at a clothing store, where I could see the latest fashion!  And when my kids grew up and I got granddaughters, it was fun to take them new clothes to try on.  They got to keep the ones they liked !

 During my lifetime on earth, I lived with my family in many different houses and four different states – North Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.  We lived in interesting places. When we lived in a railroad depot, right next to the railroad tracks, it could be hard to sleep at night.  We would wake up to the roar of the locomotive and the clickety-clack of the rail cars, just outside our bedroom window.  We learned to just snuggle deeper under our warm blankets and fall back to sleep.  The depot had two bedrooms, and we were a family of nine, so togetherness was a way of life.  

 When my kids got all grown up, they reminded me of how I would tell them to do things, without yelling.  Like, if we were taking the family in the car, to visit relatives in a town nearby, I would tell them to be sure they were wearing clean underwear, just in case we got in a car accident.  And, instead of yelling at them to get in the car, I would patiently repeat, “Are you ready, Hessie?” until all seven of them piled into the station wagon.  Many years later, one of my dreams came true when we traded in the station wagon for “my Cadillac”, and I got to drive myself and my friends to work.

Moving from place to place can teach you many good lessons. I learned that when you are new in town, it is up to you to make new friends.  That wasn’t always easy, but it was worth it, because once I had friends, I didn’t want to move back to the town I had moved from.  I learned that the key to finding new friends is to join a club, help at church, or, simply ask someone you like to join you in doing something fun.  So, never be afraid to make new friends.  Invite a classmate or neighbor to come to your house and play or go to the park or playground.  Just be sure you get permission from your parent first.

Have fun playing outdoors.  And, always remember, you have guardian angels watching over you.  They help you through the day and remind you to do good.  My great granddaughter, Ruby, misses her friend, Ava, who became a heavenly angel when she was a little girl.  Ava loved butterflies, so whenever you see one, just remember this, “Butterflies appear when angels are near”.   That thought will put kindness in your heart and a smile on your face.

With love, from above,

Gramma Dolly