My grandmother, Martha Williams passed away in February of 2010. On the way to her graveside service, my dad was rummaging through a folder of memories from her. He began to read from a letter that I had never read before. It was written to me, when I was 5 days old.
It was her gift, to all of us. Her philosophy of life. Since then it has shaped my life and helped me see the world in a better way. The letter was a homily at our wedding. This year I wrote a choral piece using her words.
February 20.1985
Dear little girl,
You don’t know me yet, but I am your grandmother. You are part of my body, mind heart and soul, and I love you dearly.
May you always keep your love of life. I know you love life because you survived the ordeal of birth. I hope you will never cease to wonder about great and noble things--- like sunlight and thunder! The rain and the stars! The wind and the sea! The majesty of the mountains! The growth of trees and the return of the harvest each year and the greatness of people and the glorious goodness of God!!
Keep your heart hungry for knowledge and wisdom; and don’t forget to laugh at life. Remember the natural exercises that come with easy laughter; humming and singing and whistling are good for you. Then you will be healthy and happy and the world will be better because you are in it.
Thank you for giving me the complete joy of being your grandmother.
Devotedly,
Martha Williams
Dear little girl,
You don’t know me yet, but I am your grandmother. You are part of my body, mind heart and soul, and I love you dearly.
May you always keep your love of life. I know you love life because you survived the ordeal of birth. I hope you will never cease to wonder about great and noble things--- like sunlight and thunder! The rain and the stars! The wind and the sea! The majesty of the mountains! The growth of trees and the return of the harvest each year and the greatness of people and the glorious goodness of God!!
Keep your heart hungry for knowledge and wisdom; and don’t forget to laugh at life. Remember the natural exercises that come with easy laughter; humming and singing and whistling are good for you. Then you will be healthy and happy and the world will be better because you are in it.
Thank you for giving me the complete joy of being your grandmother.
Devotedly,
Martha Williams
I wanted to share this song with all of you. The music was written by me, with help from my husband Chris. This choral piece was performed last month at St. Luke Presbyterian in Minnesota. The other solo in this piece is by my brother, which was pretty fantastic.
I could feel my grandmother smiling and laughing as we sang. She loved to laugh. She had an endless collection of songs and poems that she would share. At the end of the song or poem she would say, "isn't that wonderful?"
Yes, grandma. It is wonderful. Thank you for giving me the complete joy of being your grandaughter!
Listen to the song here:
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