jordangreywolf

Triple Roadrunner Portrait
Sad to say, my family has another departure. My grandmother (mom's side) passed on. I flew in and attended the funeral yesterday. She was a wonderful person and always made me feel like one of the most important people in the world any time I visited. Growing up, grandma's and grandpa's place was a central family gathering point for holidays and other special occasions, even if it was a bit of a trip to get there. As the years went on and the extended family got simply too large to converge upon one house at once, there was a hiatus in such gatherings, but then we started to have family reunions every couple of years at a lodge (built back in the 1920s) run by some friends of the family, just off of Route 66. I never got to find out any story behind it, per se, but she liked roadrunners -- and I was asked to draw a roadrunner for a T-shirt design for the first reunion. Then I was asked to draw more. The roadrunner wearing running shoes became a sort of mascot for the event -- I'd draw roadrunners participating in various activities, roadrunners and birthday cakes (the event always coincided with my grandma's birthday and the 4th of July), and so forth. What to draw for Grandma? Another silly roadrunner, for sure.

I drew this as a "get-well" doodle when my grandma wasn't doing well at all. As it turned out, there was no getting well. I'm told that she got to see it, and laughed, although my mom and aunts didn't catch the reference. (I was ripping off -- or is that "riffing" off? -- a Norman Rockwell piece, "Triple Self-Portrait," but substituting the silly roadrunner.)

At least I got this to her in time? I wish I had something a little more inspired -- a little more original -- but at least I got this done, and didn't procrastinate any further than I did. There are countless "ideas" I got for "I oughta draw this," "I oughta draw that," that come to nothing, or by the time I get around to it, it's no longer timely, relevant, or useful.

I'd say more about her, but I hardly even know where to start. (Also, wouldn't want to get TOO personal here.) She was talented, a real doer of things. She had a knack for finding furnishings and knickknacks in second-hand stores and fixing them up into something truly remarkable -- especially old solid-wood furniture that suffered from way too much paint; she'd clean off all the paint and refinish old furniture and turn it into something really nice. There were also little crafty touches around the house, especially for the holidays. She had an eye for detail, and for doing everything just so. She had a gift for hospitality and a gift for humor. She also had great handwriting, and wrote lots of letters; I used to write back more (sometimes using a calligraphy pen when I was really into that sort of thing), and I'm ashamed that I really fell out of that.

I feel like there's a "world" that existed that's no longer around, and my grandma and grandpa were essential parts of having a connection to that. Now they're gone. I miss them terribly. I'm grateful for all they gave me. I'm also grateful for all they did to keep the family together. It's nice to still have people who won't (or at least haven't so far) disown me for having the wrong political or religious views. That feels like it's especially worth so much these days.

Anyway, I'm grateful, and sad, and all I can really do is make a silly doodle.