When I began to
think about creating a shrine for my grandmother, I thought about how my family
already remembers her. When my grandmother was sick and was not able to leave
the house, her friend planted and hung orchids, my grandmother’s favorite
flower, in the tree outside of her window for her birthday. I know that seeing
the flowers brought my grandmother a lot of joy and this in turn made my entire
family happy, but we did not realize that these orchids would be a gift that
keeps giving. Since 2013, some of the orchids have re-bloomed in the tree
multiple times, serving as unexpected reminders of my grandmother. Whenever my
family spots one of them, we tell stories about her. These flowers are almost
like unplanned memorials, evoking emotion and memory. Because I find the
orchids such a powerful reminder of my grandmother, I wanted them to be the
central focus of my shrine to her. While my shrine contains fake orchids,
ideally they would be live ones. Live flowers would require watering and an
active maintenance that could be seen as a metaphor for keeping memory alive. I
wanted to create a live memorial, or as close to it as I could, because it
appeals to my grandmother’s personality. She was a very practical woman who
loved the outdoors. It seems only fitting that I would memorialize her with
some of her favorite wildlife – orchids.
To add to the
orchids as memorial, I drew details about parts of my grandmother’s life as
well as some of our favorite things done together. All of these incorporate how
I remember her – adventurous, active, and caring. On the front, I placed the
GPS coordinates of her favorite places, Higgins Lake in Michigan and Ocean Reef
in Key Largo. After my grandparents retired, they split their time between
these two locations, so as well as these being important to her, they are the
places where I knew her as I grew up. Higgins Lake was definitely her happy
place, and, per her request, is also where she is buried. Because of this
importance, I placed the lake above Ocean Reef. The kayak next to the coordinates
represent her love for kayaking with her family and friends. The American Red
Cross logo on the other side reminds of her career as a nurse before I was born
but also her continuous volunteering with the American Red Cross after she
retired. On the back, I chose to write the recipe for Buckeyes, a peanut butter
and chocolate candy that my grandmother and I would make together around the
holidays. Cooking with her in the kitchen makes for some of my favorite
memories, so I wanted to make these permanent on the shrine. I also added the
golf club and golf ball to encompass one of her other main hobbies – playing in
a golf league. Lastly, I drew the cup of ice next to a wine glass because from
a very early age I remember her always ordering a side of ice cubes with her
wine. It was one of those quirky combinations– a couple of ice cubes in her
white wine – that she always requested that I and many others often remember
about her. The flowers as well as all of these items work to remind of my
grandmother’s liveliness that I will always admire and appreciate.
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