When you marry someone, you are hoping to find a partner, love, and happiness.

If you are lucky, you marry that person’s family too, and become part of it.

MK’s grandma passed away this week. This woman was a real matriarch of a big family. She was a huge part of her community, a teacher, friend, historian.

To me, she was the teacher of pinochle, the woman always smiling, and the sharer of MK’s childhood. The excuse for a giant plate full of KFC. She was open and loving to me, and I feel truly blessed for the times we visited and spent with her.

You can’t be too sad when someone passes who was lucky enough to rock this world for over 90 years.

You can’t be too sad when because of her, you have a wonderful husband, and family full of in laws, aunts, uncles, and enough cousins to lose count of!

This reminds me to be bigger than myself, part of a whole picture, to cherish my loved ones, and honor the family that came before us with love.

As one wonderful cousin put it:

Frances Pauline Strickler Killfoil, 2/9/18-10/10/11. Mother, teacher, volunteer, cut throat card player and bad ass fiddler, but mostly an amazing Grandma. You will be missed, I love you.