Saying Goodbye...

"I will remember you

Will you remember me?

Don't let your life pass you by

Weep not for the memories"

~Lyrics by Sarah McLachlan~

Why is it so hard to say goodbye? After 98 years she is more than ready to leave this life, but I don't want her to go... and yet, I want her to be free. Free from the body and mind that have and are failing her...

But I remember:

Sunday dinners at Grandmas house, roast beef, ham, mashed potatoes and french style green beans.

Picking rhubarb from your garden and then making the most delicious fresh pies.

The first time I spent the night at your house and was homesick. You let me call mom and she talked me in to staying. We walked down to the dime store together and you bought me a doll. The dime store is long gone, but I still remember.

I remember walking down the street to the bait store to buy penny bubble gum. The bait shop, that was also a machine shop that sold candy to the neighborhood kids. The bait shop has been replaced by soaring lakefront homes, but I still remember.

I remember singing in the car "We're on our way to Grandma's house, to Grandma's house today, We're on our way to Grandma's house and there we're going to stay!"

I remember doing puzzles together.

Playing the organ.

Pouring over the family photo books, and listening to you tell stories of the people in the pictures.

The big set of encyclopedias that you kept over the sofa, that we would read every time we came over.

Yearly school clothes shopping.

I remember introducing you to Hanna when she was born.

And then Wednesdays when you and Mom would bring Hanna a cheeseburger with extra pickles and come for a visit.

I remember wanting you to stay long enough to meet Rylee, and you did. You were 97 years old and when most kids would have been scared to approach you, she walked right up started talking to you and gave you a hug, and then she told you to walk faster...

A lifetime of memories that I will forever cherish.

I love you Grandma and I will miss you. I pray that God take you peacefully and gently home, so that finally you can rest...

Thank you for the memories.