Gosh, gwendee, this is terrible to hear. You have been assailed with tragedy this year.
I wish that what we are all writing here will help you somehow. I have had deaths in my family and it never gets easy, but over time the memories become easier to deal with. I wish you and your family the very best and may 2014 bring better things into your lives.
68 is too young to die.
She sounds like a really cool person, and a kick-ass grandma. I wish strength to you, your sister, and your son.
You have my sympathy, too. That’s too many losses in too short a time.
I’m so very sorry for your loss, gwendee…
gwendee I am so sorry for your loss. You, your sister, your mom and the rest of the family are in my thoughts and prayers.
I am sorry for your loss. I don’t know if this is any consolation, but I have found over the years the more I share my memories of lost loved ones with others, the more I remember them myself.
Thank you for sharing her with us, and may her candle burn ever brighter for it.
I can empathize somewhat, having lost my father, sister-in-law and a niece over the last year. Losing a loved one sucks. Praying for you, gwendee.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
Grandmothers, I frequently remind my own granny, are one thing that distinguishes us as human. They are essential to our humanity. She sounds like she was a wonderful person, and a very important person as a grandmother. Thank you for sharing a little bit about her.
I’m so sorry hon hugs
I’m so sorry for your loss.
I’m just one year younger than your Mom. I have to say it frightens me when I hear about my peers dying.
Oh, my goodness. You must be even more leery of phone calls than I am.
Thanks to everyone who posted, or even just read what I wrote. I understand that eventually the shock will wear away and the memories will come to me without the “oh no” edge that they still have right now.
Next week my sister and I will return to her home and make a first pass at what will be donated, and what we’ll keep. It is hard for me to imagine some of her things belonging to anyone else. Her taste was for simple traditional things, and she had a very keen eye for color. The rooms in her house are lovely, warm and inviting. Her taste influenced mine quite a bit so there was initially a strong pull to want to keep everything but hers is a 3 bedroom house with a den, and I live in a 2br apartment. I’ll be strong.
The things I’m saddest about are her cats. She adopted them from a shelter that includes in the agreement that if you become unable to care for them they can return there, which is what we’ve done. Even though it was absolutely the right thing to do, it was heartbreaking. There are few creatures on earth with a cushier lifestyle than a cat in my mom’s care.
The other sadness is for the birds of her neighborhood (and also the squirrels). She maintained feeders. She had regulars. The Goldfinch family will miss her.
So very sad for you gwendee. It really sounds like she made the world a much better place just being there. What a wonderful legacy for you to be like her.
gwendee, I don’t know if your mum had a garden of any description, but what keeps my mum in my immediate memory are the cuttings I took from her garden just before she went into a nursing home (she died back in August, two months after admission).
I tend those damned things like my life depends on it, and they are growing and blooming like crazy. And when they start showing signs of carking it, I’ll take more cuttings. Keeps the circle of life going…well, for me at least.
Take care.
I got a little teary thinking of those cats, but you know, the shelter is clearly a caring place since they have insisted on the animals coming back there in this type situation. So I am sure they will find a place for these kitties to go on being spoiled.
One thing I wish I had taken of my mom’s was her thimble, as silly as that sounds. I saw her put it on and take it off so many times and when I was sewing on a button I wished for that specific thimble. And it would not have taken up any space either (I also had limited space when my mom passed away). So try to think of the little things that will bring her memory back to you, to take home.