Beloved Grandma

We went by the funeral home before the funeral to see Grandma. I know some people don't want to go in and look because they would rather remember the person as they were, which of course we all are going to do.

I just wanted to be with Grandma one more time--to tell her I love her, I miss her, and I will see her in heaven. I know her spirit is already there and I'm just talking to her body. I also know she already knows these things. I think I do it for me--to help myself cope and find closure and to have that one more time.

We had a nice lunch together as a family in the cafeteria at the school where she worked for 27 years. It's where I went to school and I was so blessed to be able to see my Grandma at school everyday. I kind of felt sorry for people whose Grandma didn't work at the school because then they didn't get to see their Grandma at lunch. (Side note--she began working at the school at age 50 and retired at age 77. Wow.) We had a nice time of sharing and remembering her before we went over to the church for the funeral.

It was a beautiful service. My mom had written about being with Grandma when she passed away, so that was shared. My mom also wrote the obituary and that was read as well. The obituary was beautiful--it was a wonderful recounting of her life with humorous parts here and there. (I counted and there were five times the congregation laughed during it. That's a good obituary.)

We drove to the cemetary and said prayers and left her there to be lowered into the ground to rest beside Grandpa (who passed away three years ago). They have a gorgeous headstone--black marble with their picture on it. On the back, it has the names of all of their children and a quote from Grandpa "My hair is like heaven, there is no parting there."

I have to say that when I saw the funeral tent here in town when I passed by the cemetary a few weeks ago after dogsitting on that gray, rainy day, I didn't dream that not more than a week and a half later, it would be our turn. Incidentally, the first thing I noticed at the gravesite was the tent and the chairs were blue. But thankfully, our day was bright and clear and sunny. I was grateful.

It was an emotional day, but a beautiful remembering of such a precious lady. She left us such a rich legacy and someday, I'll recount some of it for you.

My Precious Grandma

This is a picture of my precious Grandma when she was young. I love this picture of her.

She turned ninety in August and was still going strong until just after Christmas when the two left chambers of her heart stopped functioning properly. She spent most of January in the hospital, but she's been home the last few weeks. Her kids have taken turns to help take care of her.

It was my Mom's turn yesterday. She called me in the early evening and said Grandma was having trouble breathing and was in pain (which is what happens when the fluid builds up around your heart because your heart can't pump it off), so she was following the ambulance to the hospital.

Mom went on to tell me that earlier in the day, Grandma put her hands up in the air like she was praising Jesus and she said, "Hurry up! Hurry up and take me home."

We got a call at 2:30 this morning from Mom saying that Grandma went to be with Jesus. At some point before she stopped breathing, she said the names of her siblings who have already passed away. My mom asked her if she saw them and she said yes.

In the midst of our pain at her loss, we are so happy for her. She got what she wanted from a gracious God who heard her cries and answered them--she got to go home and be reunited with her family who were waiting to greet her with open arms.