So very sorry for the loss of your loved one. However, because there is a resurrection, I sincerely hope your sorrow will not be unrelenting. Rather, you can draw close to God in prayer, and the Bible promises that “he himself will sustain you.”—Psalm 55:22.

My name is Holiday (aka Erika Snyder) and I am the first step-granddaughter of what she preferred to be called by her grandchildren as, "Grammy." I just found out today, the day of her memorial, that Grammy passed. However, in sadness and shock, I am relieved to hear that she was at her home surrounded by family, as "HOME" and "GRAMMY" are one in the same thing.

Her house in Pitman, NJ is an absolute extension of herself and one can not think of "Grammy" without her house somewhere in the background of their mental picture of her. I will always think of Grammy when I see cookie cutters, big puzzles sprawled out on big, round wood dining tables, carefully placed stickers on adorable greeting card envelopes she always sent out for holidays and birthdays, and dolls made out of corn husk sitting on a shelf at the bottom of the stares..staring at you when you walked down.

She was amazing with children, as this was an extension of her ability to nurture she also expressed through her nursing in her early days, but especially females, as she was surrounded by them her whole life. As a little girl, I would get so excited at the thought of going over there on holidays, such as Easter, when she would surprise me with a small closet under the television that was full of Easter candy, or 4th of July, when we would light up snakes and sparklers on the sidewalk. Going into her attic was every bit of a trip through a time machine complete with the smell of cedar, and old Barbie dolls and special little toys you've never seen before.

If Grammy had more money, she could have easily took on Martha Stewart for new and interesting ways to make every day home details creative and fun. It's only my opinion, of course, but Grammy will be best known and remembered for her ability to create a HOME, but not just any home, a safe, secure, fun and interesting home that could easily be registered as a historical museum. I listened to a psychic on Coast to Coast one night and she mentioned that "Spirit was interested in us creating paradises" and that, is exactly what Grammy did with her home and family.

If we are to learn anything from her life, it is to put your heart into the smallest detail, it's the little things that count, that make things special and captivate our memories and hearts. The birthday cake that was home-made and not some store bought generic cake, the little plastic rings put in the beach towels to hang up on the hook after swimming out in the back yard pool on a hot summer's day, the rum balls she carefully made for Christmas and sent to my mother in a Holly cup just because her name was Hollie. And the list goes on and on of all the small little things she just made BETTER.

And from her, I have learned myself the importance of taking my time and putting my heart into everything you are surrounded by, that you have control over, and the resources and creativity to improve in your own way, because your home is a reflection of you! And like the lyrics of the great band, Pink Floyd.... All that you are is all that you see, hear, taste, is all that you'll be.

Eclipse by Roger Waters/Pink Floyd

All that you touch
All that you see
All that you taste
All you feel.
All that you love
All that you hate
All you distrust
All you save.
All that you give
All that you deal
All that you buy,
beg, borrow or steal.
All you create
All you destroy
All that you do
All that you say.
All that you eat
And everyone you meet
All that you slight
And everyone you fight.
All that is now
All that is gone
All that's to come
and everything under the sun is in tune
but the sun is eclipsed by the moon.


xoxoxo, RIP GRAMMY! RIKI = The name she gave me as a child, that was even on my cheerleading uniforms!

I love these '5 Sisters' photos.