A Beautiful Life…
On August 18th, the world lost a little bit of sunshine when my grandmother known as “Ma” passed away in her home surrounded by people she loved. She was 93 years old and lived a beautiful life. One of her greatest joys in life was her family – she raised six children and always said that her most important and cherished role was being a mother.
As I type this, tears are flowing down my cheeks. I miss her so much already. She was a very special person in my life and played such a huge role in who I am today.
She taught me to live life to the fullest, to laugh often, to dance whenever and wherever possible and to never take any days for granted. I also learned so much from her about being comfortable and confident in my own skin… and letting my authentic self shine.
Anyone who can get a TSA Agent to smile, while getting mad at him for trying to confiscate her full bottle of water that she tried to take through security, has to be pretty special… 🙂
I know many of you have felt a connection to Ma from her presence here on Hip2Save. She absolutely loved being a part of Hip2Save and raved about the Hip2Save community – so thank you for bringing her so much joy throughout the years with your kind and uplifting comments, emails and messages.
Although I am feeling so much loss today, I can’t also help but smile a bit as I picture my grandmother and grandfather together again… smiling down on myself and my family.
I am writing this post on August 20th, my birthday. Today, I not only celebrate my own birth, but I celebrate the amazing life my grandmother led. I celebrate how blessed I am to have gotten to spend so much of my 34 years here on earth with such an amazing person. I celebrate all of the laughs, all of the love, and all of the incredible memories that I’ve had because of having Ma in my life.
Today, I celebrate life and I know she’s right there celebrating it with me.
I love you, Ma. I know you’ll always be by my side.
So sorry for your loss. Hugs!
So sorry for you loss.
Love you Collin.
You have been very blessed. We mourn with you & rejoice with Ma.
I’m so sorry!Be strong,Collin.My prayers are for your family and Ma’s soul.
I’m so sorry for your loss. You and your family are in my prayers 💜
So sorry for your loss.Such a dear lady will be missed by all.
R.i.p. ma she was a lovely lady
Dear Collin, thank you for sharing Ma with us. She was a super special lady. Sending love and strength to you and your family from Pennsylvania.
So sorry to hear this. Condolences to you and your family. I LOVED the videos with your Grandmother. Thanks for sharing her on your website.
I am so very sorry to hear of your family’s loss. I loved watching your Target videos with your grandma. She always made me smile and laugh. I am sure she is watching over you and smiling, you can tell from the videos how very much she loved you too.
Thoughts and prayers for you and your family as Heaven gained a new angel this week. May you find peace and comfort in your precious memories and celebrate your birthday with happiness.
Colin — deepest sympathy to you and your family during this difficult time. Beautiful tribute and Happy Birthday!
So sorry…
So sorry for your loss Colin, she was a beautiful woman just like you.
Sorry for your lose. Remember this quote as it should help heal the hurt…”I walk down memory lane because I love running into you.”.. this quote has help my many tearful nights. Take care
I am so sorry for your loss.. We will miss Ma. My prayers are with you and your family.
You two made the best team together. I’m super glad you got to spend time with her. I lost my grandmother years ago, and she is still a treasure to remember. Peace to ur heart ❤️
Colin I am so sorry for your loss. She always seemed to love every minute in your videos. I always say….memories are our greatest treasures. Happy Birthday to you even in this time of sorrow.
What sad news for all who loved her, but thanks be to God she passed peacefully. May He hold all of you very tightly in these very tender days.
Im so sorry for ur loss collin. There is no words when a loved one passes away. I just pray u find peace and comfort in the Lord during this process. And dont be ashamed to cry and talk about it too much. It cleanses the soul. Well I only know u through the internet but know God deeply cares for u and is there for u whenever u need Him. Rest in peace to your beloved grandmother.
So sorry for your loss. I as well as the rest of your readers know how much she means to you!
Sorry for your loss MA seemed like a great fun loving person
So sorry for your loss, you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.🙏
I loved getting to “know” Ma through all the fun posts and antics she was included in on Hip2save!! She seemed like an amazing lady from a generation like we will never see again….
I, too, was able to enjoy my very vibrant and lively grandfather who passed on April 18th at 98 years young…he was still living on his own, making his meals, dishing on current events and enjoying his ever-bigger and crazier family!!
I feel your loss but I also share your blessing of having been able to enjoy someone we love for so much of our adult life (I am 53!)……may that be what brings us comfort in the days and weeks to come.
[HOLY COW, this is a lot of comments! I don’t remember ever seeing a post that evoked this many responses. Clearly people have been moved by it…]
I’d just to thank you so much, Collin, for sharing about your loss, and also for sharing Ma w/ your many readers for all these years. What a blessing it is to see the joy in both your eyes in those photos of the moments you shared. I’m praying for comfort and strength for you and your family as you deal with the pain of your loss. I hope that your photos will help you always remember the joy, and remind you of the precious lessons you learned from your sweet Ma.
I thought the same thing. This has to be the most commented on post. Clearly, hip2save is a family.
Sorry to hear about your Grandma. I enjoyed your posts with her. She was a special woman.
Beautiful story. ♡♡♡
So sorry Colin. Prayers from Alabama. I lost my grandma last year and I miss her so much.
I think and dream about her often. You have so many great and wonderful memories of your Ma 🙂 I loved seeing you 2 together in your posts. Praying you feel the comfort from above as many lift you up in our prayers.
I am so sorry. Your grandmother was so happy and funny and so are you. You and your family are in my prayers.
I’m so sorry for your loss. Ma will be greatly missed by so many people. Keeping you and yours in my thoughts.
Ma will be so missed by me. I always looked forward to your posts with her when she visited you and you went shopping. I never got to spend time with my grandparents, any of them, and my mother died when I was 19. So covertly, I enjoyed Ma and your relationship as if it was my own. You were so blessed to have her for the time you did. Live, Laugh, Love and she did.
Words cannot express my sympathy to you and your family. I will light a candle at mass for Ma, and thank God he allowed the world ninety-three years of her joy to be known to the world. Thank you for sharing your memories today!
So sorry for your loss, thank you so much for sharing “Ma” with us!
So sorry to hear of your loss! I was always impressed with how great you were with her and how she enjoyed being with you! What a special relationship you two had!
So SORRY for your loss MA will forever be in our hearts and truely missed . Another BEAUTIFUL angel up in heaven.
I am so sorry for your loss. She did make your post special.
I’m so sorry for your loss. Ma is smiling down on you as she’s catching up with your grandfather. Thank you for sharing Ma with us. We will all surely miss her!!
Sending thoughts and prayers your way…<3
What a beautiful post. I’m sure Ma spent your birthday with you as you reminisced and celebrated.
Our thoughts are with you 💜
Colin,
I’m so sorry to hear about Ma, she was a wonderful person, I loved the videos of the two of you. She is also lucky to have you, someone that appreciated how special she was and someone to have so much fun with. You both have ‘made my day’ as I watched and laugh along with both of you.
We all love you Ma!!
So sorry, Colin. She was so much fun to watch and she seemed to be a very sweet lady. So nice of you to make her part of your posts – looked like she enjoyed it. Cherish the time spent with her…
She’s adorable & we all could all tell you loved her so much… So sorry for your loss but happy she was so meaningful in your life & left you with so many happy memories 💜💜 much love to you and your family
Oh Collin. I read this earlier, and I just don’t even know what to say. I’ve followed your site for 5 years, and though I never met Ma personally, I feel like I did know her. Thank you so much for sharing her beautiful soul with us. We will miss her laugh, her smile, and her spunk in your videos. Love from Louisville, Kentucky
Your so blessed to have all those great memories!
Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!! I think that is what Ma would’ve wanted all of us to focus on! (thinking of you–I’m so sorry for your loss)
Wow Collin…. I am so so sorry to hear about your grandmother. I loved how spunky your Grandma “Ma” was. She was so adorable, fun, and spirited in the videos and pictures she was in. I could tell she really cherished the time with you and had fun shopping and just spending time with you. You lit up her life and I am sure she lit up yours. I know she is in Heaven, fully restored and in complete joy… but it’s so hard because we wish our loved ones could remain here with us. So incredibly sorry for you and your family. Prayers for you all during this most sorrowful time. Jeanne Perry
My deepest condolences to you and your family. May the memories that you have bring you some comfort and peace.
So sorry for your loss! You are in our thoughts and prayers. Family is such a blessing and we treasure every moment together! She sure was a very special lady and will be missed by everyone!!