My Grandmother

Talking about my grandmother's china in my previous post made me want to write about her.

She is my paternal grandmother, my dad's mother. My dad is their only child. They had married later in life and werent sure they could even have a child. My grandfather was crazy about my garndmother. He always talked about how she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. She would always hit him on the arm and tell him to "hush". He was devestated when she had to be put in a nursing home. She had dementia. He went to the nursing home every single day to sit with her.

My daughter was their first great grandchild. My grandfather knew, but I knew my grandmother had no idea. She couldnt speak and had no way to communicate. I dont even know if she knew who we were when we went to see her. She didnt seem to.

My grandparents lived three hours away. Being that my dad was an only child, he had quit his job and was traveling back and forth taking care of my grandmother and the ever present failing health of my grandfather. When my dad called me one Thursday in April of 1995 to tell me that he was going to see my grandmother the next day, somethig made me want to go. I told my boss that I would need the next day off. He wasnt too happy since it was so spur of the moment. Begrudingly, he let me off.

The next day I packed up my daughter and traveled with my dad to the nursing home. We spent time with my grandmother that afternoon. We basically just pushing her around in her wheelchair and sat in her room playing with my daughter. Like I said, she couldnt speak or communiate, but she sure would babble and carry on with my daughter. It was like they had their own language.

As we got ready to leave late that afternoon, my grandmother reached up from her wheelchair and held on to my daughter's toes as I was standing there. I hugged her and told her I loved her. As my dad hugged her and said, "Bye mom, I love you." She held on to his hand, he looked at her and she was crying, there were tears on her cheeks.

Imagine my surprise when he called me less than 24 hours later and said, "Your grandmother just passed away."