Today, my grandmother is celebrating her 93rd birthday. Yep, that’s right–ninety-three. (And she doesn’t look a day past eighty!)

I’ve been thinking about my grandmother a lot this morning, about all of the things that she has experienced in her life. Back when I was in college, I wrote a research paper comparing her life to mine (it was an analysis of a woman’s life in the 1920s versus the 1990s). Needless to say, I came away being very glad that I was born in a more open time period.

Going back to my grandmother…she is, without a doubt, what I would consider an amazing character. She has stories, so many stories, about her life growing up. Working on her farm. Killing snakes. Dancing with my grandfather and riding with him in a wagon across an old rickety bridge. She’s had good times and bad. My grandmother has buried four of her children and two of her grandchildren. She lost her husband, but kept her house and her independence. Her husband actually passed over twenty-five years ago. I’ve often asked her why she didn’t remarry, and her response to me has always been the same: “I’ll never have me another man.” Usually said with just a hint of impatience. My grandmother likes her independence, and I don’t think she wants any man telling her what to do–even if she does love said man. Yes, a very good character.

I wrote a story about my grandmother several years ago. A true story about her struggle to return to a normal life after a very severe stroke. That story went on to win first place in the 71st Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition (feature article category). Winning that contest convinced me that I should pursue the writing dream that I had always had. So, really, I owe all the success I’ve currently achieved to my grandmother.

Today, when I write characters in my stories, I try to make them as well-rounded as I can. I want my characters to be real, like my grandmother. I want them to have fun, personal catch-phrases like she does, “Sometimes you just can’t win for losing.” I want them to have hobbies they love with a passion–like her passion for yard sales. I want them to understand the hardships that come in life, and the blessings–just as I know my grandmother understands.

Happy birthday, Addie–I’ll be seeing you soon and we’ll have some cake and ice cream! 🙂

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 8th, 2007 at 10:12 am and is filed under Romance. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.