What a Wonderful Woman

Today my grandma, Jeane A. Mayhoffer, turned 88. She is such a wonderful person in general, but especially a wonderful grandma. You might ask what makes her so wonderful (besides the fact that all grandmothers are wonderful in one way or another). Well, I will tell you. She never had any kids of her own. She met and married my Grandpa a few years after my mom's mom passed away. She moved away from her beloved California to be with him and his three kids (my mom and her two brothers) in Colorado. I'll be honest here; I don't know the whole story. For that I would have to ask either my sister (the family historian) or my mom or Grandma herself. I will tell you what I do know. Any time we grandkids would come to visit (usually in the summer) Grandma would spoil us rotten, but not so much that we'd go home with the "I wants". She would always send birthday cards and Christmas cards and sometimes presents other times of the year. When I decided to move to Colorado for Graduate school Grandma supported me 100%. In fact she has supported me and all of my siblings in furthering our educations. Without her help I never would have been able to focus so much on school and get my MLIS in just under 2 years. On top of it all, she took care of my grandpa til the day he passed away. He was beginning to suffer from Alzheimer's among other health issuses and was not the most pleasent person to be around at times. Yet she was always there for him. When he passed away in March of 2008 we all worried about how grandma would hold up. But Grandma has turned her focus on her children (she still calls them and their spouses "the kids") and grandchildren and even great grandchildren. She is always asking what she can do for us while we beg her for ways we can help her. When we go out for dinner for a special occasion we have to insist on paying but usually she wins the argument. If you try to over rule her and pay when she's not looking she will run down the waiter and pay instead (she did that once when my uncle tried to pay for a birthday dinner).

So, while she is no actual blood relation to me the relationship we have in many ways is stronger than blood. She is my Grandma. I was named for her. I am glad to be able to tell people that I have such a wonderful grandma and that we are the pair of Jeanes in the family. I'm glad I'll be spending Thanksgiving this year with her and other family members. She makes family gatherings so much better. I love you, Grandma!



It's not the best picture of her, but it's the best one I have right now. This was taken when we visited Grandpa's grave a year after his passing. You can tell she misses him.

All Hallows Eve (A.K.A. Halloween)

This is what I decided on for my Halloween costume:

An Ode to my Lil Bro

Ok, so this isn't going to be an ode in the traditional poetic sense, but it is in honor of my little brother, David, who reached the end of his 24th year of existence on this earth today. These are just a few of my memories of him throughout the years.

I vaguely remember the day he was born because it was the day we moved into the little house in Denham Springs (I was only 2 years old). He was a chunky little kid for a few years which is funny because he is now the skinniest of us all. Every now and then he would have the most awesome blond 'fro you've ever seen and then Mom would realize it was time for a haircut.

For a few years in a row we got to spend his birthday in a hotel in Hammond because Dad would have work meetings and they would pay for us to stay. Buffet breakfast and a swimming pool!!!

He was always there, right behind me in school. We had band trips and Science Olympiad and choir and 4-H together. After he graduated high school he and I moved away from home together (I transferred schools after 2 years at LSU). I still remember the day we drove away in my little green Saturn up to Monroe to move into the dorms. He was so together and I was a wreck. The smallest things would upset me, but he was there to help me through.

When he left on his mission the next year I knew I would miss him. I somehow kept up with writing to him - an email every week. He's the only one I've managed to do that for.

I love his sense of humor and his perspective on life. I love the things we've shared and want to always be able to share special moments with him as well as my other siblings. So, on this special day I want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my one and only little brother! :-)

It's All Been Done

Well folks, I figured it was about time I post on here about graduation. Two weeks ago (5 June 2009) I graduated from the University of Denver with my Master's of Library and Information Science. Yes, it's official! I'm a real live (unemployed) librarian! As my Uncle David put it, I'm officially over-qualified. Now if I could just get a decent library job (preferably in Colorado so I don't have to move) then I'll be all set.

Anyway, most of my family was able to come to my graduation. Only my little sister couldn't be there in person, but thanks to modern technology she was able to watch it on the Internet. Even my friend from high school, Erica, came out for this special occasion. It was lots of fun hanging out with her and spending time with family.

I want to write more, but the muse is not with me right now. I'll have to let this suffice until I can think and not just babble on and on about nothing.

One Week

That's right folks! If you've been keeping up with my countdown to graduation you know that I am now only one week away from getting my Master's in Library and Information Science. It's been a long hard road, especially here at the end when all motivation went out the window, but I'm starting to feel like I can breathe again. I only have a couple of little things left to do and turn in, but I know I can get it all done. Of course, then I have to get things ready for family and one of my best friends from high school coming into town for the ceremony... not to mention the ever daunting job search. We'll see where things go from here...

...and, yes the title of this post is a reference to one of my favorite bands - Barenaked Ladies :-)