Kathleen McGivney

Grandma Martha

I consider myself an incredibly lucky person, mainly because I was fortunate enough to know both of my grandmothers for nearly 40 years. I got to climb into their laps to read bedtime stories, learn how to bake sugar cookies and eat half of them while we were decorating them, and, as I've mentioned before, have the honor of both of them walking me down the aisle at my wedding in 2008.

Grandma Martha and my aunt Michelle dancing at my wedding in 2008

A little over a year ago, I wrote about my Grandma McGivney when she died at the age of 98. On Wednesday night, my maternal grandmother, Martha Prentice, died at the age of 96. My mom and I lived very close to my maternal grandparents when I was a kid, so I was at their house often and spent a ton of time with my grandparents while I was growing up. I was Martha's only grandchild until I was in my early twenties, so she may have spoiled me a little bit (like letting me eat all those sugar cookies).

Me and Grandma Martha circa 1977

She taught me how to bake and tried to teach me how to sew. She was really great at sewing and made my Halloween costumes every year. She taught me how to drive a golf cart when I was around 8 or 9 and would let me drive her around their retirement community at an exhilarating 3mph. She encouraged me to read as much as possible and to follow my passion, and she and my grandfather introduced me to computers, eventually leading to my career today. She supported and loved me through my teenage years even though I was a holy terror and I will always be thankful for that.

Mom and Grandma with me as Princess Leia, around 1980 or '81

She married my grandfather on Christmas day in 1941 and they stayed madly in love for more than 50 years of marriage until his death in 1991. Their first daughter died a few weeks after she was born due to a heart defect. They went on to have two more children - my mom and my uncle Mark. She is survived by both of them, her four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Grandma Martha, aka Marty, circa 1957

She was a strong and inspiring woman, living through adversity, war, the Great Depression, the death of a child, and the teenage years of both my uncle Mark and me. No matter what, she was always there with a smile and a hug. I will miss her stories, her jokes, and her laugh, and I will always remember how lucky I am to have had both of my grandmothers in my life for as long as I did.

Grandma just before her 92nd birthday in 2009

 

 

Grandma

If you've known me for any length of time, I have probably told you a story about one of my awesome grandmothers. I'm lucky enough to have known both of my grandmothers my entire life, from when I was a wobbly toddler getting birthday cake icing all over my maternal grandmother's favorite sweater, to when I was honored and humbled to have both of them walk me down the aisle at my wedding nearly 5 years ago.

Grandma P, in royal blue, and Grandma Mac, in pink, walking me down the aisle

My Grandma McGivney passed away this morning at the age of 98. She is survived by 7 of her 8 children, 19 of her 20 grandkids and their spouses and partners, and 21 great-grandkids (though I could be off with those counts - we have a HUGE family).

Grandma Mac surrounded by some of her many kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids

My grandmothers have always been incredibly inspiring to me. Both of them grew up poor and survived countless challenges and hardships. Both of these incredibly loving and strong women taught me to be strong and tough in the face of adversity, and to always hold everyone you love close to you and to tell them you love them often.

Grandma at her 98th birthday party

Goodbye, Grandma. I'm happy that we could all have you in our lives as long as we did. You will be incredibly missed.

 

 

Happy New Year

My husband and I are in Florida right now, getting ready to depart on JoCoCruiseCrazy. I have to say, I've never been remotely interested in going on a cruise, and the only reason I chose to go on it is because some of our really good friends are going and convinced us to join them. Now that it's almost time to get on the ship, I'm actually pretty excited about it. There are lots of geeky and fun activities to keep us occupied, and this is the first vacation I've taken in 10+ years that I haven't brought my work laptop with me. I'll be kind of forced to relax, which is awesome. To top it off, I get to spend the whole trip with my amazing husband and some of my favorite people in the world, which makes me very happy.

We kicked our vacation and new year off with dinner on New Year's Eve with our friends, which was notable mainly because we rushed back to our hotel just before midnight so we could ring in the New Year together with some champagne by the pool. Despite the best efforts of Ft. Lauderdale's interminable traffic light wait times, we managed to make it back to the hotel, run through the lobby, and land poolside with champagne poured in our extra-classy plastic cups with about 2 minutes to spare. It was hilariously perfect.

I wish you all a fun and happy year surrounded by the people you love.

In Memoriam

Three years ago today, a good friend of mine, Keith Alexander, died in a cycling accident. I can hardly believe that it's been three years already; it seems like just yesterday I was at a bar in Brooklyn with him, talking about music and technology and our crazy-ass friends and making the bartender's life hell. I miss him a lot.

Today, BME News (site is not safe for work!) relaunched with a piece about Keith (interview link safe for work) as its lead story. Several people contributed their memories and thoughts about Keith, including me. I am glad that his memory lives on in so many people. I'm better for having known him. Hopefully others will continue to be inspired and influenced by how he lived his life for a long time to come.