life

I am 43 years old. Today is the first day of my life that I will live without a living grandparent. My 94 year old grandmother passed away at 2am this morning, Thanksgiving day. I'm sad that she is gone, of course, but she lived a fantastic long life. She had a great marriage with my grandpa. But he passed away in 1976, and she lived another 34 years on her own. A full generation of my family was born and raised in those 34 years. Her first great-great granddaughter was born this summer, and she got to meet her. How many people in this world live to see a great-great grandchild? She saw this world change in leaps and bounds. But she was just my grandma. She and I shared a love of ice cream. When I was old enough to drive, I would pick her up and take her to Graeters and we'd sit and eat ice cream. She'd have mocha chocolate chip and I'd have mocha chocolate chip and chocolate chocolate chip. Wd shared a lot of time over ice cream! She outlived every friend she had. And for the last years of her life she was lonely, and ready to be with her already deceased husband and parents and brother. She was in hospice the last few days. Yesterday her pastor came in and talked with her and sang Jesus loves me, and reminded her that she was prepared for this. She responded to his voice and his words, looking at him, moving her arms and hands, I know she heard and understood him. It was her way of saying yes, I am ready. I was with her last evening, and my mom and I were talking to her through her morphine induced fog. She was not grandma anymore. But when I said her brothers name, she swung her face in the direction of my voice. I'm sure she was hearing us the past few days even though she did not respond much to our voices. My mom and her sister said yesterday they did not want her to pass away on thanksgiving day. In my heart, I thought it would be the perfect day for her to leave us. When the phone rang at 2am, I breathed a sigh of relief that she was now in a more peaceful place. And now every thanksgiving, we will remember our grandma, our mother, our great grandmother, our great great grandmother. Of course, we will remmeber her the rest of the year, but now thanksgiving will be a special day for me. Becuase it will be the day my grandma finally found her peace.

love you grandma! rest in peace.