Weeellllll, I truly doubt it's a coincidence that you dreamed of your grandmothers. Apparently, your subconscious mind was just chomping at the bit to point out the two women in your life so far that you consider wonderful examples to you (and others, no doubt).
I'm often humbly amazed at the power of transformation and how this universe wants us to grow and change. Yes, I'm a believer in God and give Him full credit, but for the folks that call Him something else, I'll just credit the divine magic of our existence here on earth. Your post is an example.
My grandmothers were much like yours in spirit and moxy. Like you, they are my role models in life. They faced similar hardships and their upbringings were similar to yours in keeping a stiff upper lip and moving forward. My dad's mom had 7 children and lost the 2nd when he was 2 when he fell out of an apartment window when they were living in St. Croix (how awful is that?). She grieved him greatly, but knew that my dad (the oldest) needed her on her game, and she ultimately went on to have 3 more kids who also needed her. She passed away in 2008, and I can only say that my aunts, uncles, cousins and parents all miss her greatly. And the women in the family? We all wish we had a tenth of her fortitude. She lost my grandfather in 1995 and rather than focus on losing her husband of 60+ years, she said to all of us, "I miss the man he used to be, not the sick version of him. I'm still here. So I'm going to focus on all the things that apparently God thinks I need to do. And I will continue to make my family my #1 focus." (She lived in Australia and her kids were scattered among these 2 continents.) I find her my role model in grieving quietly but living with us in the moment.
I was fortunate to have her still alive when I got the bomb. She wrote me a wonderful, compassionate letter that I will keep with me until I die. Funny, I had forgotten that. And funny that now that I think about what she said, it was to continue living my life to the fullest.
Just think. Maybe some day our great grandkids will be on Who Do You Think You Are... and what kind of person do we want our successors to think WE are?
"There are only 2 ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
