This weekend was a blessing. I took my daughters to my grandma’s house for lunch and visiting for the afternoon. We filled our time with laughs, stories, hugs, holding little hands and walking under the blooming trees in her yard. The same yard I ran around freely as a child.

The best memories I have growing up were at grandma’s. I learn so much from her. I feel so blessed to still have her around and the time we get. I lost my other grandma two years ago and it was very hard. The best advice I have as a mother is to go visit your grandma.

My grandma is a Polish Catholic and the absolute sweetest, wisest woman I know. She knows so much from growing up poor. There’s just something different about a person who grows up poor or humbles themselves in their childhood. Versus children who get so much they don’t appreciate it or understand.

I always want my home to be like my grandma. I don’t know about anyone else’s grandma, but my grandma was not the cluttered kind they talk about today. She got deals yes, but she gave away alot. She is always caring for her family, and that’s something I will always look up to.

She had me drive her to her husband’s grave, my grandpa’s grave, and she said a prayer while holding my two little ones. Both my girls folded their hands in prayer as she cried. It really hit me how short life is and how it is truly a gift from God. We talked about life on earth and how we don’t understand much but that we have faith God has bigger plans than we can even imagine.

I plan on taking another trip to her house when more flowers bloom and the weather warms up. This picture above is her front porch. It will always feel like home to me.

We are all waiting to get our gardens planted. This year, I plan on learning how to can from my dad and asking my grandma as well. All her tips and tricks.

As we sat there eating lunch on the same table and chairs I did when I was three like my daughter, I couldn’t help but reflect. Time goes so fast. What kind of memories do I want my daughters to remember?

That’s easy. I want to give them the same memories Grandma gave me. A home-cooked meal, a clean home, a good talk, a warm hug, the smell of celery, dill and parsley mid summer. The way she dressed in her clean, fresh linen and garden shoes. In her younger years wearing a bandana, almost like a veil that some women wear to mass, while she picked eggs from her chicken coupe. I want to can like she did, and continue to give my kids the same things she gave me. A home.

My advice for all mothers and homemakers is this. Go visit your grandma. And call her weekly. Some days I talk on the phone for 4 hours with my grandma, though 2 is more the average, ha! Take in every word, and remember as much as you can. Every story, every detail. It will all be treasures in your heart, I promise. May you always see the blessings in your everyday motherhood.