Feeling so blessed

 So I make no apologies about this. I am a huge grandma's boy. I dont care who knows it, its true. I loved my grandmother and she was the biggest influence in my life. She was my touch stone. My pillar
of strength. She was always there for me when I needed her. The day she passed, was a very sad, dark day for me. My foundation cracked, and I felt utterly alone.

Throughout my life, my meek and humble grandmother shone a light of kindness, love, warmth, and security. So as some (if not all of you) may know. In 2003 I lost my house to a wild fire that swept through southern California. Well when I was in the 8th or 9th grade, I had a family history project that I had to do. My grandmother sat down with her tape recorder and recorded an oral history of our family spanning all the way back to Sweden. 
Listening to the history pour out of her, I could feel and see the imagery of the words she spoke. Im going to be 40 in a few weeks. So this cassette tape was made when I was about 13 give or take. I moved all around California and then here to Washington. I thought that this tape had been lost to the house fire or just to the sands of time as it were. I found it in a box that I hadn't unpacked from when I moved from California almost 14yrs ago now. I was looking for something, I honestly cant even remember what it was now. But when I saw this tape with the white out label, I knew exactly what it

was instantly. I found someone online who offered to clean up the audio and transfer it to CD. 

Today was the first time in almost a decade that I heard my grandmothers voice. Listening to her recant the tales of her parents lives and her life and that of my aunts and uncles was just amazing. It was like I was a kid again sitting in the kitchen listening to her record it while i sat there eating cookies and milk. I seriously can not believe it made it all this time. 
Its jokingly said that I am a hoarder, and you know what, for once I am glad that I hoarded something. This has meant everything to me. Im not sure if my cousins, or my aunt or uncle will appreciate it as much as I do. But knowing that I have something with her voice on it, is more than everything in the world to me. I just wish that I something with my dad's voice on it. But for now I have it in a digital format and have uploaded it to several different places throughout the internet.