A timeless beauty

   I'm horrible at keeping up with my blog. I have so much to write about yet always feel so unmotivated to do so.. but tonight I feel like writing.
   After having a wonderful Christmas, New Years, Valentines, and experiencing a entirely new chapter in Levi and I's relationship, I could write so much about whats happened in the past few months, but tonight's not the night for that.

   When I was in Third grade, my real grandma passed away at a very old age, so I don't have much remembrance of her. Probably two years later, he remarried my new step grandmother, Lois.
   My grandpa passed away almost two years ago coming up in March.. In my very first blog post I wrote alot about him and the great person he was, so check that out Here.
   This morning, Lois passed away.
   Since my grandpa has been gone, I have not seen her a whole lot, but the impact on my life she made stayed the same. Even after he passed and I hadn't seen her in months, She still made the time to send a sweet birthday card with a thoughtful 5 dollar bill placed into it, just like my grandpa always did.
    I ran into her and her daughter at our local Atwood's probably a month ago and got to introduce her to Levi for the first time, and that was the last moment I got to speak to her.
   Looking back on the years she spent with my grandpa, I can only remember good things about her. She was such a kind woman. Simple things she did,  like going to all of my softball games even though she had no interest in anything athletic, stand out. She always supported me as a grandmother would. She loved my grandpa more than anything, and truly took his family in as her own.
   She was a beautiful woman. Dying just a few days over 80 years old, and yes, my one word to describe her would be beautiful. Beautiful is a powerful word I feel to be abused and overused, and if I've ever known a woman to be beautiful, she is the one.
   What makes a woman beautiful? Although for being 80, she had a wonderful and smooth complexion, a smaller figure and elegant snow white hair, being beautiful is much more than that. Her extremely kind heart, her always smiling face, and the genuine care she had for all is what made Lois beautiful. The example she was as a wife, and as a person, is something hard for me to put into words.. But she truly has made me realize what the virtue of beauty is, and its not as common as the word is thrown around.
   What do we see as beauty today?  What is the word beautiful most associated with? Blond hair? Fake Eyelashes? Long Tan legs? Outrageously priced clothes? Perfectly white teeth and big breasts? Although many women desire to be these things, and many men find them nice to look at, that doesn't make it beautiful. And I'm not bashing these things, and think It's very healthy for a woman's self esteem to feel good with how she looks, whether that be by having long hair, being thin, tone, tan, or by wearing heels .. whatever makes you feel good, do it, but know that being beautiful is much much more than these physically appealing things.
   When you're 80 and on your death bed, people will not remember you by how perfect your makeup used to look when you were 18. They will not remember you by how good you looked in those 100$ shorts that left little to the imagination. They will not remember you by how tan you used to be 60 years ago, or by those shoes that were in style that you just had to have. They're going to remember good memories and times that they spent with you, they'll remember your kind, gentle heart, the care that you had for everyone, the joy you always had, The smile that was always on your face, and the examples you set for them. They'll remember your sense of humor, your love for God, Your husband, family, and the way you were so loving to everyone around you. Your inner beauty is what will be remembered.  A good, kindhearted, humble soul is a beautiful one, and will be remembered in the end more than just a pretty face.
   Being 17, I know how easy it is to get caught up in making your physical form appealing, I want the cutest clothes, white teeth, tan skin, and perfect hair. But I also realize that physical beauty fades, and inner beauty is a timeless, never fading thing. Life is but a vapor, and the time will come that im an old woman.. And when I'm 80, I hope I'll have a beautiful soul to be remembered by, like Lois.