Claryce...why?

Good evening all,

Up late again, playing on the computer. In my last post, I promised I would explain why I use the name 'Claryce' to write under. Like anybody really cares besides me.

Claryce is my grandmother's name. Though she is no longer with us, having died at the age of 100 in October 2007, she is still my grandma. She did so much to influence my life. I owe her so much and the only way I can repay her love and kindness is to pass it on to others.

Grandma (Gimaw to my girls) prayed and nagged me back into the Christian community of believers after 10 long years of "not needing to go to church to worship".
Every time I would call her from Alabama where we were living at the time, she would say, "You want friends? Go to church." Thanks for that, Grandma.

The day of my grandma's funeral was a wonderful day...hard, but wonderful. The last thing she said to me before she died was, "I love you, too" in response to my declaration of love.

The day of the funeral was sunny and around 60 degrees. The granddaughters all wore hats of Gimaw's to honor the lady who wore hats longer than anyone else at
Orcutt Baptist Church. My cousin, Wayne, preached the funeral and painted a beautiful picture of the great time Grandma was having checking out her mansion in glory! I sang with my trio, Greater Joy, at the funeral and actually made it through the song without falling apart.

After leaving the cemetary, my husband, two of my three daughters and my niece stopped with me at 7-11 to get a drink and a snack before facing the "visitation" at my mother's house. My grandma, loved red. When we pulled out of the 7-11 parking lot and onto Jefferson Avenue, there was a red Cadillac in front of us. My eyes were immediately drawn to the license plate of that car - "GMA JOY". I read out loud, "Gimaw Joy". I knew then she was dancing in glory and just wanted to let me know!

Be Blessed, Cathy