In Memoriam

On December 5, 2009, my grandmother passed away peacefully in the middle of the night.  My husband, little Emma and I flew out to the east coast immediately to attend her wake and funeral and spend time with family.

At the funeral, my cousin gave the eulogy.  He described my grandmother and her quiet presence.  When she was alive, she made sure that things got done, but without complaint.  She raised five children on her own, with little help from others, and then she helped raise her children's children.  She lived with grace, and truly believed in following the ways of Jesus Christ and the Golden Rule.  Even in her last few years, when she slipped further into her dementia and stopped recognizing all around her, she still smiled and if she was suffering, she again did so without complaint and with dignity.

Although we all knew her time to leave us was imminent, it didn't make my grandmother's passing any less difficult or less heartbreaking.  We will all miss her so much.  I am grateful that Emma got to meet her great grandmother before she passed away.  And even if Emma is too young to remember, and my grandmother was too far gone into her dementia to have realized the significance of the meeting, one day, I will show my daughter pictures of the meeting and tell her all about her beautiful great grandmother.