Class, Style and Grace

Alice Mary Cosby was Mike's paternal grandmother. I didn't know her very well, but yesterday I got a real sense of who she was.

Yesterday we met some of Mike's family at Alice Mary's condo to go through her things (she passed away a couple of months ago). I've done this sort of thing before when my sister passed away. When doing so I tend to separate the things from the person. In other words, all the furniture, dishes, clothes are just things. They aren't the person. I don't know, it just seems to make it easier to go through. However, yesterday was different.

Maybe it was because I didn't know her very well, but I was so interested in everything. I almost wanted to take everything because it was a part of Mike's heritage. So, I just kept looking and looking at things. Not really knowing what I wanted (except the two wood screens. I knew I wanted those). I just kept looking at everything. I ended up wandering from room to room just looking. I came to the room where she kept her clothes and began sifting through her clothes. What I found there didn't at all surprise me. Alice Mary was a very classy lady. She reminded me of a San Franciscan Socialite full of class, style and grace. She had Ann Taylor suits and beautiful cardigan sweaters of all colors and styles. As I looked at those clothes I got a sense of who Alice Mary really was. In fact, I felt her for a brief second with me, because I KNEW who she was for one brief second. She was no doubt one classy lady. I teared up and was so sad I missed the opportunity to get to know her better while she was alive.

Carly found a bag of stuffed animals and with the assistance of Rebecca (Mike's cousin's girlfriend and her new found friend) she pulled them out one by one. There were so many of the same Teddy Bears and a few of the same rabbits and koala bears. All adorable and soft. But I imagined Alice Mary buying these with the full intent of making little children happy - more specifically, her great grand children and perhaps her friend's grand children. There were so many that they would have well covered her family and then some. However, for whatever reason she wasn't able to fulfill her wish.

I may be wrong, but I do believe that Alice Mary was completely misunderstood while she was alive. She was a private woman and no doubt very strong (to be married to a Cosby man you would have to be). She loved her husband so much that she was lost without him when he died. I'm so happy she's with him now.

She was so proud to be a Cosby and if she were alive today I would want her to know that we will do our best to honor the Cosby name and carry on her legacy. But, I think she knows that.