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Some of my best girlfriends are my 3 sisters, Susie, Cindy and Julie & my mom!  They have been there for me through thick and thin and shown me unconditional love!  And so did my Grandma Ann

This is me, my mom, my grandma, Cindy & Sue at Christmas dinner one year.  We all love this picture. We were sad Julie wasn't in the pic with us.

My Grandma Ann is my mother’s, mom.  She & her younger sister grew up in a pack of boys during the depression.  Her first husband died when my mom was very young.  Despite my great grandma’s complete disapproval, she got remarried to the most wonderfully kind man, Ed, a few years later.  (They were married over 50 years!) My grandma worked in LaGrange, IL at Montgomery Wards in payroll until she retired.  Not too long after retirement, she and my grandpa moved to Indianapolis to be closer to us.

Now, my Grandma was one a tough cookie.  She would “give-you-what-for” if you stepped out of line; you definitely knew when she disapproved; and she rarely doled out hugs and “I-love-you’s” until later in life.  Gratefully, I was the beneficiary of an enormous amount of love from her.  I spent quite a bit of time with grandma while I was going through some of my most challenging times.  She was so good to me.  After my crisis passed, I continued to spend time with her.  When I moved from Indy, I called her every Sunday until she died, just to check in and tell her I loved her.

The things I loved about my Grandma were her sugar cookies, her collection of angels, her faith, the way she said, “Oh, Nancy!” when I said something a little off-color, and her “wave”. (She waved up & down versus side to side, and she did it kind of fast.  I channel that wave a lot!  So, if you ever see me do it, you’ll know where I got it.)

Okay, now where do diamonds come in?  First, let me say that my Grandpa absolutely adored my grandma.  He exhibited the kind of love in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. (Read that passage from the Bible, and you’ll know my grandpa.) 

This my grandma & grandpa with my mom at my parents wedding in 1955.

On my grandparents’ 50^th wedding anniversary, my grandpa gave her this diamond and gold necklace (see picture below). 

She was overwhelmed that he gave her such an extravagant and beautiful gift.  It was so sweet to watch as he slipped this token of his love and life with her around her neck. She wore it nearly every day until she went to be with the Lord.  I was given this diamond necklace in remembrance of her…one of my best friends!

Have you been given a diamond by someone you love?  If so, is the diamond or the person who gave it to you, “a girl’s best friend”?