I haven't said anything online to y'all about something that happened last week. I've said it to a couple of friends in person and one in an email, but that's it. I wanted to blog about it, to explain how at peace the three of us are with it and how we are honoring it, but no matter how many times I sat down to blog to y'all, nothing came out. Then I got some good news this morning I really want to share. However, in order for you to understand just how good this news is, I need to share the bad news with you, too.
I told y'all that we went to the Boston area for Thanksgiving this year. My dad's mom (my Nana and B's GG - short for great gramma) is 96 yrs old and one of my aunts planned for us to get together and share Thanksgiving with Nana because who knows how much longer she'll be around. Because I'm currently dealing with a health issue, I went back and forth on whether to go or not. But I decided B and I should go and have a wonderful time with family. Due to the government shutdown in October, the hubs is negative in his PTO (paid time off) and he was unable to go with us.
It was so wonderful to see aunts, uncles and cousins that I hadn't seen in years, but seeing my Nana was the best! She' so small, yet full of energy. And although her face has been wrinkled and her hands spotted for as long as I can remember, she has always had the softest skin I've ever touched. Not even B's skin as a baby was as soft as Nana's. Her sight, hearing and short-term memory are going, so it was quite overwhelming for her to be in a room of 60+ people (just a fraction of her family. BTW) all talking and coming at her for hugs. We all wore name tags to help her out. :o) One of my uncles read a poem he'd written for Nana. A cousin read a short story she'd written about Nana and Papa years ago. A cousin's wife and daughter sang a song and that daughter also sang a solo while "dancing" a cup on a table (it was amazing). B and my dad performed a rap about Nana's life that my dad, my brother and B had written. It was a beautiful day!
I hugged her, told her I missed her and loved her very much. I didn't want to let her go because I loved the softness of her cheek against mine, the smell of her shampoo. She remembered who I was and who B was. I will always treasure the memory of that day, that gift we all gave and received.
Five days later, on what would have been my Papa's 103rd birthday, Nana had stomach pains and was taken to the hospital in the evening. At her age, if by some miracle she survived surgery, the doctors said recovery would kill her. So she was made comfortable with pain meds and she passed away early the next morning.
She went quickly, she was living independently in her own apartment at the time and she had just been honored and loved on by her family. I think it was a perfect time to go and I'm glad she did not slowly deteriorate over time. I wonder if Papa finally called her home as a birthday present to himself. :o)
Since returning from Thanksgiving, symptoms of other medical issues have arisen in me, possibly complicating the surgery I need. I need another specialist and further testing to get a diagnosis and make sure my surgeon has the whole state of me before he starts drilling into my head. And time is of the essence. Therefore, the three of us decided not to go back up to Boston for Nana's funeral. I have no regrets.
Tonight is the hubs' company Christmas party. We have not been to an office Christmas party since before I got pregnant with B and were looking forward to going. However, since my parents and my brother have gone up to the funeral, we no longer have a babysitter for tonight. And that's OK! The hubs is still going and he's driving a couple of his co-workers whose significant others cannot attend, as well. B and I were going to have a holiday movie/popcorn/snugglefest tonight.
So we're all done with the sad stuff and now we're moving onto the good news! Before going to bed last night, I entered a contest. I saw a Facebook post announcing only 2 hours left to enter and I took a chance. This morning, I received an email that I won the contest - 2 tickets to a family-friendly holiday event tonight. So, now B and I will be going out on a date tonight! We are both very excited! We are all very blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment