Grandmas

I was incredibly fortunate in that when I was born I had 3 great-grandmothers and 2 grandmother's alive. By the time I was about 7 I even had a psuedo-grandma (Mrs. Carter) and I had a personal relationship with them all. Today however, I find myself realizing that out of those 6 grandmas I have only one left.

Doris, my paternal grandmother's, health has been failing ever since her husband, my Papa, passed away two and a half years ago. Her decline has been especially evident over the past 6 months. Last week the decision was made to move her from her home to the hospice center.

Tonight, around 8pm, she finally passed on to join her husband and daughter. Her passing was not a suprise but will still shake my family greatly.

Even though I was very much prepared for this event I'm surprised at it's effect on me. Grandma D was an oppinionated woman (sound familiar?) and very much shared the role of 'head of the family' with Papa - they both set the tone for our family. With them both gone it will take a while to adjust as a family.

I'm really glad that I saw her on my last trip to Orlando. As I prepared to leave I gave her a hug and told her 'Alright Beautiful, you behave!' When I leaned over to hug her she said 'I love you - you're my only grandaughter - I'll always love you' and she squeezed me super hard. It's nice to know that she knew who I was and that we got to say goodbye.

The funeral is being planned for Friday, I'll be heading down to Florida to be with my family as soon as possible.