The Collings home is rarely quiet.
It is filled with sounds of action.
The whirl of a power saw, the clicks of crochet needles,
the scratch of a pen doing the crossword, the flap of shuffling cards,
the clink of canning jars,
the applause of a televised tennis match,
the all too familiar tune of Jeopardy.
It is filled with sounds of love.
The patter of grandchildren's feet,
the melody of prayer before a family dinner,
the laughter of Monday night dinner group,
the chatter of an over due phone call,
the songs being practiced on the piano,
the sigh after receiving a much needed hug,
But even in those rare moments of stillness,
when it seemed like nothing was happening
you could usually still hear something.
Humming.
My grandma Shirley Collings loved to hum,
and if she didn’t hum she would whistle.
I can only imagine that a truly happy person could hum or whistle as naturally as Grandma Shirley.
Because making cinnamon rolls or doing cross stitch
wasn’t enough to express her inner joy,
she had to hum a beautiful melody while she did it.
And it makes sense.
She had many things to be happy about,
a husband of 63 years, three kids, sons and daughter in laws,
6 grandkids, 1 great grand son,
and many, many other family members and friends that loved her very much.
She had a fulfilling career as a teacher,
enjoyed her retirement by traveling around the world,
sang her heart out in choir,
and kept many of us warm with crochet blankets.
Her loyalty, strength, understanding, patience, and love were truly angelic.
What’s there not to hum about?
My Grandma Shirley was a truly amazing and wondrous woman.
A woman who loved to hum.
A woman who hummed because she loved.
A woman who hummed because she is and always will be loved.
To my Grandma...I will surely love you forever.
