My grandma is the lovely lady in blue. The other two are my Aunt Marcia and Nancy.
Even though you know it is coming it doesn't make it any easier.
When my grandpa died 8 years ago we figured it wouldn't take very long for my grandmother to pass. They had been together for nearly 60 years at that point and when you're with someone that long (since she was 15) you don't want to be without them. This is why we were shocked that she made it this long but that doesn't make her passing any easier.
My grandmother played a huge role in my childhood. I can remember going to the desert when I was very young and taking me on walks with my grandpa, learning about my family, desert snakes, and collecting random desert treasures. She read me books. I played with her really awesome dolls (she had an amazing collection). I can remember how her ham sandwiches tasted better than any other sandwiches in the world. She also made the best chocolate cake.
When I got older I decided it was boring to be at grandmas. I still would snuggle by her and breathe in the fragrance of her baby powder and White Shoulders mix of old lady-ness. I can remember doing this even when I was in my 20s. It was comforting.
When I was 12 I had to do a report on a member of my family. We made the 3 hour drive to visit my grandma where I asked a few questions but learned hours of information about her life. She was born into a very liberal family. One of the only ones around. She could remember her father protesting against seperation way before the civil rights movement. She was borrn in the depression days and knew first hadn what it was like to be hungry and not have much. She also could remember how they were the rich ones of the family, and they were dirt poor.
She was mad when her cousins moved into the house and so talked my grandpa (18 at the time) to take her in. My grandpa, being an upstanding man, told her if they did that they would have to marry. She shocked the heck out of him and agreed to his proposal. Though I really wonder if it was one at the time. :)
There was so much more to the story and I loved to listen to each detail. It was hard to believe that my grandmother, the desert rat, lived such a different life.
We never talked about deep things in my life. She wasn't that type of grandmother. We would talk about school and my time in gymnastics, singing, ice skating, karate, or whatever I was doing at the time. She always seemed interested. That's all I needed.
When she got very ill a few months ago things progressed very fast. A week ago she fell and spent the night on the floor before my Aunt came over and found her. They took her to the hospital and she mad a massive heart attack. Today, she passed away peacefully in her sleep.
She is in heaven with my grandpa, after so many years without him I'm sure she's pretty happy to be seeing him again :) Someday I'll get to see her again too. As she once told me and my sisters "There are stars up in the heaven for all of us so we can all be together."
