…and they buried her today. I was there, of course, seeing as how she was my grandmother.
At 80 years old, she had spent the last several years suffering from Alzheimer’s. She passed earlier this week, and after we gathered the entire family, or at least all those possible, we held a service this morning a few blocks from the house she lived in for as long as I’ve been alive (and then some…). It was freezing out, spitting snow the whole time. She was the most religious person I ever knew, an absolutely wonderful person. I’ll never drink a can of Pepsi or eat a ice cream drumstick without thinking of her. I spent every Easter up until college at her house, or at the farm my family owned near her house (which meant spending the day in town anyway). When she first went in to the nursing home, my wife and I talked to my mom about getting to live in her house. We would rent it from our family members until we could afford to buy it, pending we found jobs in the area (since it was 4 hours from where we lived then). They couldn’t afford to do that, so they sold it. It was better for her, since it helped her stay somewhere that was comfortable and paid for her doctor bills, but it’s been a rental ever since and as I drove past today it looked run down and scary. Now that she’s gone, the life-deed thing is no longer in effect, and it will probably only be two or three months before it’s made into a parking lot. I’m going to miss that lady, and I’m going to miss the house that served as a central point for my extended family. Every year, Easter will be very different now. Even my son’s birthday will be different, as it was the same as hers. This thread may drop off the front page, but I just wanted to post and say that she was a great lady, she will always be missed, and please, if you do read this, take time to appreciate family on this holiday.
Brendon Small
