We have never done this before and I am really hoping it will not have to be done again anytime soon.
It is alot of work, but it gives a different look at some things we should have done before we die. It is nice to have a few things written down of what we would like!
It is nice because Grandma had gone to church up here for the past year and formed some relationships and really came back out of a cloistered life she had led for the past 4 years before that! I had fun hearing some memories of my grandma from before that I had never heard before.
My mom was the youngest of 5 children, she married young and moved away from her family for awhile. We saw grandma when she came to visit or we visited, but it was not too often as we traveled alot. That is why it was so special to be able to get a good relationship with her these past few years. When she got really sick about 2.5 years ago, I went down to CA with T. and helped take care her. We flew back to CO with her and got her settled at home again. It was funny because one of the Hospice nurses down in CO, kept telling me she knew me. She was certain we had met! Finally she realized that it was because we had met 2.5 years before as she came to Grandma's house, not as a nurse, but as a Medicaid worker. She remembered me as the young girl with all the children!
Grandma was a very strong person, she would get down alot, but she was very concerned about other people. Sometimes some people look at that as a bad thing, but I think it is a blessing in this world where so many people are only concerned about themselves.
My grandma became a Christian as an adult, being raised Catholic. I have just heard the story from relatives, but I heard that some neighbor ladies decided to come and help her with housecleaning and became friends. They would witness to her while cleaning and invited her to a Billy Graham Crusade, if I remember right. It makes me think of how something as simple as housecleaning spoke to that busy mom of 5 children and made her stop and listen.
She actually had 6 children, but one little boy was stillborn. His name was Jack, and I heard he was missing an arm. I like to know that now she was able to see her little boy and my grandpa in heaven with Jesus.
It is hard for me to not have the honor of taking care of her anymore, it was something special that we were able to help make her life a little happier this last year, so she could be more independent like she wanted to me.
I will never be able to go to eat somewhere probably without hearing her say "Eat something more than salad, for me." or "Promise me you will eat, sweetheart."
Another good memory is grandma, having trouble walking or standing and standing up to give someone else her chair or trying to clean the table!!! I have a feeling that will be me when I am older though! We loved to tease her that we would put on her grave "She gave up her chair!"
No comments:
Post a Comment