TEXAS, USA — As bad as 2020 was for everyone, it was worse for 88-year-old Sue Grandi.
First, she lost her husband to Parkinson’s, then her grandson died unexpectedly at 35. Cancer took her daughter and before the year was over, her brother, sister, and dog were gone too.
“In the depths of the grief, I thought surely I must be the only person in the world that is hurting like this,” Grandi said.
For a while, it was hard to find joy, she said. So, she turned to her faith and found a way to use what got her down to instead, lift herself up.
“It was just one day when I woke up, it was like, ‘ok, enough of this self-pity. Get up. Do something productive,’” Grandi said.
She started by dedicating more of herself to the opera training she’d begun years earlier. Then, together with her daughter, Merry Miller, she published a series of children’s books called “Eddie’s Amazing Adventures.”
After that, she created a business and non-profit called Sisters Sewing Kindness. Together with her sister, Grandi has sewn and donated hundreds of blankets to people in need. She said she’s doing more for others than ever before.
“There’s a lot to be grateful for,” Grandi said. “Much more to be happy about than sad about.”
She’s not only happy, but she’s also confident. That’s why, last year, she competed in the Ms. Texas Senior America pageant --- and won.
She’ll compete for the title of Ms. Senior America next week.
After the hardest year of her life, Grandi said she’s found joy and purpose.
“There are enough people doing the big things in life,” she said. “What we need is little people, people that’ll stand back and hold the door and slow down and let you in traffic when you need to get there. Small kindnesses matter."
Sue Grandi, proof that small kindnesses are a big deal.