I loved her stories that she told me. Life for her was never easy. She grew up a poor farmer's daughter. She married a farmer and had 8 children.....6 lived to adulthood. There was never a doctor to go to when she was pregnant. She lost twin daughters due to home delivery and breech births.

Farming was all she knew. Times grew harder after my grandpa killed himself when my dad was only 12. She had 6 kids to raise....all under 17 yrs of age with the youngest about 4 or 5. She kept the farm and worked it with her children....5 sons and 1 daughter. My aunt was the only one to get an education and graduate from high school.

Grandma worked the farm and held a job in a cafe in town 40 miles away. How she did it I will never know. She managed to raise all the kids....they grew up, married, and had their own families. One son never married. He was the one in my nurse's story.

Grandma worked until she was almost 70. She worked at the cafe for all those years. Best cook in town.....made all the pies and cakes from scratch....flaky pie crusts that melted in your mouth...best short order cook ever.

I spent a lot of time with her as I grew up. Spent many a Sunday afternoon with her. Oh God how I loved that woman. She was the best of grandmas and the best of friends.