The Influence of Joy

I have never called anyone Grandmother. My mother's mother had many names and the one in which she chose for her grandchildren to call her was "Sizzle". Sizzle was quite a character and was the most creative person I have even known. My big sister and I would always leave her house after being babysat with eyebrows drawn on by a permanent marker. Sizzle had her own ways of going about life and always managed to have fun even while supporting her three children as a young widow. Her friends called her "Joy" which fit her well even when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I remember Sizzle wrapping her hairless head with a turban and getting my fortune told whenever I came over to visit. In the end, Sizzle taught me that whatever life throws at you smile, be yourself, and to not take anyone for granted. Sizzle has been so influential to my family that we created The Joy Foundation. The foundation brings the arts to cancer patients and I believe it is a perfect way to remember Sizzle. There isn't a day that I don't use the lessons that I have learned from Sizzle's inspirational life and I am so lucky to have known such a unique woman.