Happy Birthday Helen

For those of you that do not know this amazing woman, her name is Helen Small and she turned 98 yesterday!!!!! She is married to my grandfather for 27 years now. Yes, that means that she is his second wife. My grandmother passed away when I was in the 6th grade. What a great woman Isabelle was. She was your typical grandmother; she could cook like it was no ones business. But this post is about Helen.

Helen was one of my grandmothers friends. Helen's husband died and they did not have any children. After my grandmother passed away, she and my grandfather started spending time together. She is/was an amazing person. I do remember like it was yesterday when Grandpa and Helen came over to our house to tell us the "News". They were getting married, they were going to marry each other when they were both 70. How cool is that? Well at the time I did not think it was cool at all. I hated my grandfather for marrying someone else. I was very, very close to both my grandparents, so grandma's death hit me pretty hard. So I did what any adolescent would do, go screaming out of the room, yelling, no grandpa you can't marry her.

Helen came to my door and talked to me. She is a soft spoken lady and she is very good with her words. She told me that she would never want to replace my grandmother, she just wanted to share in my grandfather's life. I did not have to call her grandmother, I could call her by her name, Helen.

What an amazing wedding! Besides my brother Scott getting drunk, it was a pretty good time.
They have lived in harmony since then. They are now both in an assisted living facility, living by themselves in their own apartment. Helen reminds me every time I talk to her what it is like to live life. Yes, she has challenges, she uses a walker, has hearing aids and no longer can see but you would not know any of that if you just sat next to her and had a conversation with her.

Helen, here is to you and your 98th Birthday. Keep on kicking so you can keep my grandfather in line!!!!!!!