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.
You could tell how very proud she was of you. You are just like her full of love and happiness. I will keep your family in my thoughts and prayers. She blessed so many lives…thank you for sharing her with us. 🙂
Praying for you and your family. So sorry for your loss of such a special person.
words cannot express…find joy in those memories, how special she was, and every moment that you made count together
My heart go out to you and your family. I’m so sorry for your loss and my prayers are with you during this time. I hope your birthday takes extra special meaning. Your “ma” was truly a radiant and special woman. Have a blessed day.
I am so sorry for your loss. It was such a delight to see posts and videos of you and Ma. I know she will be greatly missed. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. May God give you comfort and peace during this difficult time.
So sorry for your loss!
So sorry for your loss!!!!
I am so sorry for your loss!
I’m so sorry for your loss. It was always a joy to see Ma in your posts. You and your family will be in my prayers.
I am so very sorry for your loss.
Hi Collin,
I’m very sorry to hear about your loss. May happiness and love be with you and your family always.
So sorry for you loss, mawmaw’s are the best…i lost mine when i was 26…. 29 years ago this November,, i still miss her so very much,
it never goes away but when you can finally do more remembering with a smile instead of tears will make it easier over time. God Bless you and your family.
What a beautiful woman I always enjoyed seeing her smile. My condolences for your loss.
So sorry for your loss. With deepest sympathy!
I am so sorry for your loss Collin. I will miss Ma’s smile. She reminded me a lot of my of grandmother. I enjoyed watching all your Target videos of you and her. Every time I walk into a Target store and see those electrical carts I think of her. How she would try to maneuver her way through the isle but somehow end up crashing into something. ;)She will always be with you and I am sure she is so very proud of the wonderful person you have become and how many lives you have touched and helped. I thank you for all you do and please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. May Ma rest peacefully watching over you your loved ones.
Oh Collin! My heart sunk when I started reading this. I am so very sorry for your loss! I will be praying for you and your family. Also, a very happy birthday to you. You are such a blessing…just for who you are as a person. May God bless you and comfort you during this time. I know Ma was incredibly proud of you and her legacy lives on in you and your children. Love you Collin!!
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family!! Xoxo
Big virtual hugs to you and your family.
I am so sorry for your loss Colin. But what a blessing to have had 34 years to spend with her! I hope you have a wonderful birthday filled with great memories you’ve shared with Ma.
I’m so sad now 😢 you will be missed Ma. Sorry for your loss Colin and family.
Praying for you and your family. Ma was such a special lady and will be missed. <3
Praying for you and your family!
Thank you for sharing her with us. She seemed like such fun to be around. I am sorry for your loss! My deepest sympathies to you and your family.
So sorry for your loss, Colin and family. She was blessed to have you in her life and I appreciate the time that you took to be a part of her life. It was great to see the two of you together on hip2save.
I am so sorry for your loss!!
Sweet, wonderful, amazing Collin, I have been following your site for about 5 years and this has been my favorite post! I so enjoy you and your Grandma! I am sooooo glad to hear you understand you will be with her again, and what a day! You both are amazing women! I hope to have 6 children and lots of grandchildren so it’s fun to hear you describe her and her love for motherhood and family- how wonderful!!! Sounds like she lived a full life, as are you, happy birthday Collin!!! Thanks for all you do, but more importantly for the moments you let your faith, personality, and character shine on us, shine and laugh on 🙂
I am so sorry for your loss! I loved how close you were to each other. I will keep you in my prayers during this difficult time.
I am so sorry for your loss. I love the videos that you two did together. I was lucky enough to win a “Flat Ma” and I will treasure it always.
So sorry! I always got a laugh when watching the videos of Ma. She had so much energy! Just by you sharing her with us throughout the years, she made an impact on our lives. She made us remember to always laugh and have fun.
Sending prayers to you and your family.
So sorry for your loss 😔
What a beautiful post, my condolenses to you and your family.
Oh my gosh…I am so sorry. I have tears runnng down my face. I know Ma was so special to you, as well as the entire Hip2save family – she will be missed by us all. She was an amazing person. Extra prayers for you (on your birthday), and to your entire family. My deepest sympathies.
So very sorry for your loss-cherish the memories.
I’m heartbroken and so sorry for your loss.
Blessings, Prayers, and love to you and your family.
So sorry to hear of your loss, but her spirit seems to be living on and thriving! Sending you and your family healing thoughts during this time…
Collin I am so sorry for the loss of your beautiful, spunky and charming grandma. I have so enjoyed seeing your joint posts here over the years. Thank you for sharing her with us. You and your family have my prayers.
I’m so sorry to hear of Ma’s passing. She brought so much joy to all of your followers on hip2save. Our prayers are with you and your family. Hugs, Donna
My deepest condolences. What a truly wonderful woman Ma was. I absolutely loved all her shopping trips with you, she was a total crack up. I’m so very sorry for your loss.
Colin, I am so sorry for your loss. She was a vibrant women and definitely showed us that. We were blessed to have known her even if it was in video. She will surely be missed. May God bless you and your family and may she rest in peace.
Awww I’m so sorry for your loss! I lost my grandmother on the same day two yrs ago – still feels like it was yesterday. Hugs to you and your family!
My deepest condolences…my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
I’m thankful for the times we get to see a glimpse into your life outside of couponing. I’ve loved seeing Ma over the years and I’m glad you’ve had such a special person in your life. I pray that your family will feel her love surrounding you at this time!
I am so sorry for your loss. I genuinely loved seeing pictures of your grandmother & got so excited to see her in videos. She was always so funny & sweet, and always brought a smile to my face. She will certainly be missed, and her beautiful life & memory will be celebrated!
Feeling so sad for you and your family, but also for the many hip2savers who fell in love with Ma. I loved every time she appeared with you. Praying for you and yours. <3
So sorry for your loss. Praying for you and your family.
This is the first time I have cried while reading a post on Hip2Save. It was beautifully written. I am sorry for your loss while at the same time happy for all the sweet memories you have with your grandma.
So sorry to hear. I loved the way you included her in so much! Blessings to you and your family.
I am so sorry Collin. I’ve loved all the posts you’ve shared featuring Ma. Just you giving us followers a small glimpse into her life shows what a special, beautiful person she was. Praying for you during this time.
I am so so sorry for your loss Collin. Thinking of you and your family.