Grandma Cook

My two grandmothers are/were amazing. As different as night and day yet loving, attentive and spoiling like all grandmothers should be. My Grandma Cook died over 5 years ago. She was about 5 feet tall, full of energy and love. Nothing every bothered her and when you asked how things were she would say 'fine fine sugar'. She has a dog named Chico and she had about 5 'Chico's' that I remember. One dog would die and she would get another one, name it Chico but not tell anyone the other dog died because she didn't want to make us sad or bother anyone. One time my uncle noticed that in her closet she had hung her clothes on a hanger on another hanger so they were low enough for her to reach as her osteoporosis made her shorter by the day. My uncle asked why she didn't just say something and she said it was 'fine fine sugar'. That day my uncle went out, got another closet bar and put it in. She was so thrilled, you think she got a new car. She raised 7 kids in that little house with a husband who worked mutliple jobs to help them live the American Dream in Detroit in the 40s and 50s. She was a widow for the last almost 30 years of life. She was one tough cookie. She put a dollar bill in everyone's christmas card even my grown dad. She always gave us a pair of socks for 'little christmas' (epiphany jan 6). Everytime we went to visit she would cook up a feast and always send us home in the van with a bag of food. Fried chicken, ham with pickle sandwiches, orange juice in an apple sauce jar with wax paper under the lid and one cracker jack box per kid. I love crackerjack because of my grandma. I put a box in her coffin at her funeral. I haven't had cracker jack out of a single box in years. You know the boxes with the prizes in it. They were on sale at Walmart this weekend so I bought a triple pack for 97 cents. I took it to work yesterday for a snack. As I opened the box and the scent of caramel coated popcorn and peanuts hit my nose I was flooded with all these fond memories of my sweet Grandma Cook. Miss you.