My grandmother is buried in a rural family cemetery. A week or so ago, my husband took a motorcycle ride and stopped by the cemetery to check on things. He observed that the once-beautiful floral sprays that were heaped atop Mam-ma's grave were now dried, brown and ugly. So tonight, we drove out and gathered everything in garbage bags and cleaned up the graves of my grandparents, my dad and my brother. I would say this is one of the last remaining tasks... but there seem to be "loose ends" to tie pretty much every week yet. My grandmother's funeral was seven weeks ago today... maybe that's to be expected.
I never really thought that I would discontinue this blog when Mam-ma was gone... and now I am sure of it. As we pay the last bill and write the last thank-you to summarize her earthly life, our own mothers are both telling us that they "feel old." My mother just celebrated her 74th birthday, which I consider "young." However, she has several health issues, including COPD and diabetes... and she is beginning to develop some neuropathy in her hands and feet. My husband's mother will be 87 in June, and in recent months she suffered a mini-stroke... and that just about correlates with her comment that "...in the last six months, I've suddenly felt old."
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| My mother (known as "Granny") and Timothy - Christmas Eve 2012 |
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| My husband's mother (known to the children as "Granda E")... with Nathan - Christmas Eve 2012 |
So I don't know what turns the next stage of our journey will take. But I have learned that we are a lot stronger than we think... and we'll be fine. I also hope that some of you will share your own stories with me, so that I can demonstrate by example that we truly are not alone. Two of our dearest friends have just placed his parents in an Assisted Living Facility, and now they are anticipating the arrival of their first grandchild in October. Now there's a "sandwich" in the making!
My niece and I had a yard sale this weekend, and a lady purchased a sleeper sofa from me, explaining that "we're downsizing." As her husband and teenaged son placed the sofa on their trailer, she asked if I happened to have a twin bed for sale. She said, "We've just moved my grandparents into our home. My grandfather is in a hospital bed, and we want to keep them together. There isn't room for more than a twin bed for my grandmother, so we are hoping to find one." If only I could have manufactured one on the spot, I would have given it to her! I felt an instant bond with this woman...I can't imagine what her "sandwich" must be like on any given day, but I know she faces big challenges!
So we will move and grow and change with the circumstances. I figure we will be the "filling" in a sandwich of sorts for several years (hopefully). We'll just have some variations in the "bread." I know that we can handle this, with God's help, and the support of each other. After all, we're all in this together at The Deli!
So we will move and grow and change with the circumstances. I figure we will be the "filling" in a sandwich of sorts for several years (hopefully). We'll just have some variations in the "bread." I know that we can handle this, with God's help, and the support of each other. After all, we're all in this together at The Deli!
