August 6 is going to be such a blah day for me, as it has been for the past 2 years. You see, it's my late grandmother's birthday. She would've been 74 years old, and even now the pain is still fresh. I know that I'm an emotional eater, and if I'm depressed, I turn to food for comfort. My goal is to be extra-vigilant that day because I know I'm going to want to do anything to comfort myself. I'll want to be alone, I'm sure, even though I don't think that's the wisest thing. Tears stream down my face even as I write this, because I think of how much food played a part in our very close relationship. She was the one who taught me how to cook/bake. My mother (her daughter) somehow lacks the ability (and motivation) to create such wonderful cakes and pies as Granny Price did. Maybe it skips a generation, because I am forever faithful to have that capability instilled within me. Mind you, mine are NOWHERE near her level, but I hope one day I can be somewhere near that amazing.
Back to the cooking, though-Granny had me in the kitchen at a very early age, helping break eggs and measure sugar, sift flour, and mix up the most amazing cakes you've ever put in your mouth. If someone needed a cake for a special occasion, they asked my grandmother to whip up a Red Velvet or one of her famous poundcakes. She never met a cake that she couldn't make. I remember one time, as I got older, I was doing most of the work and she was "supervising" while washing dishes (she was old-fashioned and refused to let my grandfather install a dishwasher). We were making a coconut cake, and because it's so moist, it has a tendency to fall apart on you. It did just that, and I was on the verge of tears. She took over for a few minutes and started piecing the cake back together. By the time she had finished her work, it was gorgeous again. I think in a lot of ways, I'm like that cake. I fall apart sometimes, and then someone comes along and just reminds me that it's not nearly as bad as it seems sometimes. Granny had that uncanny ability as well-she rescued me more than once, whether it was her telling me she would pray about a test I was about to take while in college or paying for something for me. She was my biggest cheerleader when it came to weight loss. She paid for me to go to Curves for over a year, and I'm ashamed to say, I really didn't take advantage of it. I went, but not as much as I should. I did their 6-week "Biggest Loser" challenge and lost 25lbs., but within a year had gained it back, plus more. My biggest regret is not losing weight before she passed away in March of 2008. I have faith, though, that she's looking down on me from Heaven and smiling and saying, "You're doing so good Audi! I'm so proud of you!"
Today, my grandfather called me. He's moved on (as my grandmother wanted him to), and he told me how proud Brenda-his fiancee-is of me. He says she's so proud of me, and that he is as well. If I can't have my Granny Price here, I know I have a heck of a soon-to-be step-grandma that's going to try her best to encourage me. I'm fortunate to have/had 2 amazing "Grandma Price's" in my life, and that's the thought that's going to keep me working on my goal.
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