I thought a lot about Jeanette this weekend as it had been eight years ago this past Friday that she had died. As I looked back on the pictures that we took with her at Greenfield Village, I really became sad. I know that all of the Heinisch children had benefitted for having her in their life, but it just felt like too short of a time. She was always supportive of their activities and had a smile on her face every time that she saw them. She would listen to their stories, make crafts with them and watch their favorite movies over and over. She asked them questions about their interests and tagged along whenever she could. She was always the Heinisch family cheerleader. I really miss that about her. When Jeanette became sick and our time together grew shorter, she never let on how much she would miss everyone and never once complained to us about her health issues. Even at the end, I loved calling her and telling her about our life. I remember her greeting on one of our last phone calls. I asked her how she was doing and she responded instantly with "Wonderful, now that I am talking to you."
I realize that her close relationship with her children, their spouses and her grandchildren didn't just appear at the end of her life. She had laid the foundation for that by the way she had raised her boys. She treated all of us with the same care, love and support that she did Doug, Dan and Phil when they were growing up. I believe the best way to honor her legacy is to parent and grandparent the way she did. Patient, supportive, generous, caring, and calm were just a few words to describe her way of being involved with our family. I hope to live up to her high standards as my adult children step into their next stages of life outside of the Heinisch home.
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