When we moved to California in 1982, our daughter Mary was almost 7 and Seth was 5 years old. We didn’t know a lot of people very well yet, but we went to the library every week because it was fun and free and educational to boot! The librarian’s name was Mrs. Helen Vaughn. She was so welcoming and helpful. It didn’t take long for us to get to know her.
She was such a lovely woman and we became close to her. We asked to come to our house for dinner. She told me that it would be too difficult because she was allergic to so many different foods. So I just told her to make a list of the things she couldn’t have and I would avoid those foods. She agreed.
She was the first person we invited to our house. And the kids were so excited. I can’t remember what we had for dinner, but she loved it and we had a good time. The kids may have even performed for her. They loved to do that. We did a lot of singing in our house and they could have sung for her or acted out something they made up. I don’t remember. But that doesn’t matter. She was becoming a part of our family. We already loved her, just from going to the library.
Our bond with her grew and she became a grandmother figure to the kids. It was so good for our family to have her in our lives. And I know she felt the same. It showed in all of our interactions. We included her in school activities and all of the special occasions of our lives. She even gave me a part-time job at the library with just the right amount of hours to fit my schedule. She taught me many things. We loved her and she loved us.
When we moved back to Indiana, we wrote back and forth. And so our lives continued to intersect. (She had the tiniest cursive handwriting and I was the only one of us who could read it.) When we went back to California for a visit, she picked us up at the airport.
We continued to write, but less frequently as our lives were so busy as the kids got older. And then, when she hadn’t corresponded for a while, I tried to find out why, and she had passed away. She must have been in her 80’s by then. She wouldn’t tell me how old she was, so I couldn’t be sure. But up to the end of her life, we were still connected by mail. She was our California grandma and we were so blessed to have her in our lives.