What My Grandma Allen Taught Me About Being “The Best Gigi Ever”
When I was between the ages of 5–8 years old, my Grandma Allen lived straight down the road—just four stop signs from my house 🏠
Every Friday afternoon, I would rush home from school and call my grandma to ask if I could spend the night.
My call would go something like this…
Dial 342-0824 ☎️
“Hello Grandma… can you call my mom and ask if I can come spend the night tonight? Can you call her right now? Ok!”
Then I would wait…
And if the answer was yes—I would jump on my purple Huffy bike (with the white banana seat my Grandpa Crowell made for me) and pedal down past those four stop signs straight to Grandma’s house 💜
When I got there, she would be waiting in the kitchen, and we would plan our time together.
I don’t ever remember my grandma saying I couldn’t come.
And I don’t remember us ever doing something that wasn’t what I wanted to do.
It was a time in my life where I felt:
I was important
I was smart
I had good ideas
And I was completely and unconditionally loved by my Grandma Allen 💛
Grandma Allen was very crafty and always had a project going.
She was also incredibly talented—she played the piano, organ, and accordion… and she was a wonderful whistler 😊
She had many nicknames—Birdie, Mammie, Kitty—and her given name was Verla Marie ❣️
She was my friend.
And through her words and actions, she showed me what Jesus’s unconditional love looks like.
Every time we were together, we would make little crafts for me to take home and share with my family.
We would also go shopping in her little black-and-white convertible Metropolitan car.
She would let me pull the choke to start the engine, and we would each wear a beautiful scarf to keep our hair from getting windblown.
And the best part?
We never, ever had to stop for gas ⛽️
Because Grandma would say…
“This car doesn’t need gas—it runs on love 💝”
One afternoon, we were out shopping a little later than usual.
When Grandma noticed the time, she said,
“Oh dear—we need to head home and make Grandpa his lunch.”
To which I said…
“Can’t he just make his own lunch today? We’re not done shopping!”
Grandma smiled and said,
“Oh no… I like to make his lunch for him.”
So I tried again…
“Could we just get him something and bring it home?”
She said,
“No… I like his lunch to be hot for him to enjoy at home.”
Still determined, I said…
“Ok… can we go home, make his lunch, and then come back shopping?”
And she gently replied…
“No… I think we need to be done shopping for today so we can go home and make Grandpa lunch.”
As you can probably tell… I was trying every angle known to a 7-year-old 😄
But the lesson I learned that day has stayed with me my entire life:
The people you love are more important than anything you are doing.
And it’s important to know what they like, how they like it…
and then do those things for them—no matter what you would rather be doing.
So thank you, Grandma Allen, for teaching me:
That I am worthy of being loved 💛
That I have good ideas and can create beautiful things to share that love
That people are the most important part of life
Near the end of her 100.4 years of life, she said something to me I will never forget…
“You know Kathy… I wake up each morning and say to Jesus—
Oh dear Lord, I guess I am here for another day…
So I will go about my business, and if You want me to do anything for You, just let me know—and I will be ready.” 🥰❣️
And that… is the story—and the heart—of how I learned to be, at least for me…
“The BEST GiGi Ever”🧡
GiGi Will L💝VE You Forever &
LIKE You for Always,
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18❣️