She will be missed
As you may have seen from my Twitter or Facebook updates earlier in the week, my grandmother passed away suddenly a few days ago. She lived a great life to the ripe old age of 90, but her death was sudden due to a freak accident that occurred in Ohio. Well today I flew from Seattle to the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania to say goodbye to her. It's funny, I really miss her, but I don't feel remorse or sadness because I knew she was ready. You could just tell. As Ellen mentioned, the last time she said "goodbye" there was something different. Grandma knew her time was up.
The weirdest thing happened as I met up today with relatives and friends that I've never really known. They all knew me and knew me intimately. It felt like the entire tiny town of Boswell has been hanging on every word from my blog and our recent tragedy with Emma. It was incredibly touching but odd. I don't know these people, but I now feel a strong desire to learn who each and every one of them are and how they have effected my father and my family. Hopefully, I can come back with Ellen and Ella to learn all about them.
Anyway, my beautiful Grandmother will be forever known as the person who woke up at 6am to a smaller version of me, begging to play UNO. She never once said no. She never once said go away. Each and every time she played games with me until I was bored with them. No complaints. She loved her family unconditionally. It has been heart breaking to see her old age tear apart this loving demeanor and bring on depression. She had dealt with some hard times recently and I only hope that I could handle it as gracefully as she did.
As I studied old photos of her today, my sister mentioned something to me that I never really realized. Grandma always dressed well, I knew that...but she was purposeful in her outfits and her photos. Each photo was a pose. Each photo was her special opportunity to show people who she really was. I now had a special appreciation for her that I haven't had in the past. I'll post these photos of her later.
My one regret is that I don't have a record of her stories. The last time I was with her, she discussed a relative who had served in the Civil War. Really? The Civil War from the 1800's? Holy Crap! She was loaded with this amazing family history and now most of it is gone.
Tomorrow I am to give a eulogy for my Grandma Thelma. I have no idea what I will say. I'll post a copy of it up here afterward. Grandma K will be missed for sure, but I'm happy for her. Her pain has ended. I am extremely thankful that Ella met her a few weeks ago. And on Monday she met her other granddaughter, Emma.
I can picture Emma with Grandma now.... and of course Grandma is already teaching my little girl how to play UNO.