Mary Margaret Knox Kiser

I received a call from my brother Rus on June 27th informing me that my maternal grandmother had a stroke. This was some very heart wrenching news. You see, my grandma has always been a go getter. She has always been involved in some community project or another. She turned 90 last September and showed no signs of slowing down.

My Grandma lives on a 23 acre ranch in Cedaredge Colorado. It is a very small town located at the base of the Grand Mesa National Forest. The town is so small that it only has one stoplight, and that stoplight was probably installed about 5 years ago. I spent at least two weeks at my grandparents ranch each summer when I was in elementary school. Looking back, the time I spent there is my most cherished childhood memory.

I went over to see my grandmother with my father, T-y, and Brielle this weekend. Grandma's stroke has really made her 90 year young body look old. The stroke pretty much paralyzed the right side of her body. Its a good thing that she is left handed. The other good thing is that she is very mentally sound. She was able to carry on a conversation with me and she recognized my kids and addressed them each by name.

Another thing that amazes me about my grandma is how well she is loved. She has had a constant stream of friends calling and visiting. She is an amazing lady. Here are some of the community awards that she has received over the past century: Salutatorian of High School, Peach Queen, Grand Marshall of Little Britches Parade, Honorary Golden Gleaner, Wankan Award - National award for Camp Fire leaders, Historical Society Appreciation Award, 5 year camp crafter, King Benjamin award (Institute of San Diego South State award), Lifetime member of PTA, Mary Kiser Day, Fire Fighter lookout named for her in Pioneer town, National delegate of Republic Women 4 or 5, nominated as Republican Women of the Year

While the ranch isn't the same as it was when I was a kid, it was still fun to explore it with the kids. Here are some pix of the kids and I exploring the ranch. You can see more pictures here.

My grandma has made some landscaping changes to the yard. One of those changes was that she built a fire pit. My mom, dad, the kids, and I roasted smores one of the evenings that we were there. Dad, Floyd Robert Berrett, didn't want to roast his marshmallows, so he just grabbed them and smooshed them between to grahams. I decided to give our smores a twist by spreading peanut butter on the grahams. It was delicious!!!

Thanks for being such an awesome Grandma. I love you!!