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Last week my aunt made me some custard. She told me that she used my grandma Keenan’s recipe. It was delicious.

My aunt’s gift was more than something good to eat, it was also a way for me to remember someone who was so special to me.

The older I get, the more I realize how much I am like my grandma.

I recently learned that my grandma used to visit people when they were sick. Three years ago, I left the job I had at a church. I spent many hours visiting church members.

One day I returned to the church after an afternoon of visiting, and as I walked up the church steps, I thought to myself, “I think I will be doing this job until I am 70 years old.” Well, that is what I was hoping, I was content and happy. I felt like I had a road map for my career, but a few months later, I found myself recalculating my route.

My ALS diagnosis would not allow me to work at my job until I was 70 years old. I was devastated. All I wanted to do in life was to make a difference. It seemed like my job at the church was something I was called to do. I could not understand why I would no longer be able to do it.

I felt like George Bailey in the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” George had big plans for his life, but things don’t go as he planned. At the end of the movie he learns that all the little things that he did, had such a profound effect on so many people. He understands that he did in fact have a wonderful life.

And now back to the custard. My aunt said that grandma thought custard was a gift from heaven, and she shared it with those she loved. Grandma was never famous, but the memory of her gentle spirit is still making a difference in my life today.