Roses in December

Our little family decided to make a sudden drive down to my parents' to help my mom prepare for the events and funeral of the coming week.  Earlier in the day yesterday, I had called my mom who held up her phone so I could tell my grandmother one last time how much I love her and how much I'll miss her.  Jackson and Cole each talked to her, too.  While she was too weak to respond, my mom said that Grandma looked around and even moved her mouth, trying to speak to Jackson as he spoke.  I am grateful that I can look back and not have regrets that I DID visit her two weeks ago when I was here and that I DID get to tell her in her final hours that I love her so much and to thank her for her long, beautiful life.

I received the text as I was zipping up my suitcase to go out to the car before we headed out.  It was simple from my mother, "She's gone." I had a sit down, full-out sobbing several moments as I thought about never holding my grandmother's smooth hands or kissing her cheek, or hearing her sweet voice.  Minutes later, my mom called and shared with me Grandma's sacred final moments.  With my younger brother and my mom on each side holding a hand and my father nearby, she slipped away.  I'm truly thankful that she finally has rejoined her family and is free from her mortal prison -- stuck in a hospital bed day in and day out. 

Today as I hang out with my nieces and nephews at my parents' house, I see things that remind me of my grandmother.  In fact, I'm seeking for those remnants of her mortal life:  books, her favorite treats, flowers, her old home, blankets, jewelry, clothes, memory books, and pictures.  I want to keep her close.  While things are not as they once were, I'm grateful to the human mind and its amazing ability to remember moments so vividly.  You know, I've found the more that I just sit and think about it and talk it out, more memories surface, and I am able to relive snippets of my childhood and moments with my grandmother.

A quote from a friend's funeral who was gone much too soon  perfectly expresses my feelings and emotions today:

(graphic from here: http://www.jenniferlynking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/rosequoteAugust13_081913_-081.jpg)