Thinking of my Grandma Emilia

She would have been 101 yesterday if she were still alive. She has been gone eighteen years now and I swear I can still remember the sound of her voice. Funny how memories can seem at times so real and as if they had just happened. She loved living in the United States but never got around to becoming a citizen. She kept her visa up to date and traveled to Mexico when ever she felt the need to but all of her family lived here in the US. She had ten children survive and live to adulthood of those only four are still with us. My mom is now the oldest at 78 and the youngest my Uncle Louie is 67. Mom was the fifth child and my uncle was the ninth. My Aunt Carmen, grandma's oldest child would have been 86 today. I remember thinking as a child that we, especially my parents and grandparents, would live forever. But the Lord didn't give us these bodies to last that long, as is evident by the morning aches and pains I now experience. I am grateful that Grandma doesn't have to deal with these things but I am still a bit selfish and wish I could have some more time with her. Extra time to take her to lunch, give her hugs and kisses, and time to spend with her wonderful great granddaughters...