It wasn't long before Grandma was diagnosed that I remember sitting in the painting room and her telling me this story.
She had some paintings hanging in the gallery in Lake Geneva and was pretty excited when a doctor from Chicago saw her work, loved it, and asked to buy several pieces. She was elated (as we all know that Grandma loved the praise of her work). She quickly informed us all of this great news... she was finally finding the success she longed for. After figuring out how to show him the pieces and have them delivered to him, she ran into a friend.
This friend was excited too, she had just bought a piece of original Julie Carpenter artwork. Wow, now Grandma was flying high, but she was curious as to where this friend had found her work. The friend answered back... "I got it at Goodwill for only a few dollars!".
Grandma told me this through laughter... she truly believed that this was God's way of knocking her off the little pedastal she had built for herself.
I am grateful that she was so honest with me about her successes and her failures. This is something I see in the people she raised also. My mom is a prime example of someone who never tries to pretend that she doesn't make mistakes. One of the best lessons I could ever learn. Even though I don't have children, my mom and my grandma both taught me that inevitably I will make mistakes as a mother, and big ones, but that everyone does.
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