Nelson News: My Grandma

My intention today was to write about the grand time we had at Easter and our mini-vacation to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington. Those will need to wait for another time because today my heart is heavy thinking of another Grand--my special Grandma.

My Grandma does not have very long to live. Death is so final, and yet the days leading up to death, knowing its coming, knowing its only a matter of time, knowing there is nothing to do (or that she would want you to do) to stop it, is agonizing. My heart hurts most for my Grandpa, who has made one tough decision and is abiding by my Grandma's Living Will, and for my mom, who is losing her own mom, and quite likely, best friend. My heart hurts for all of us who will miss her immensely, and yet I sit trying to balance those selfish thoughts of wanting her with us with the thoughts of her being in a much better place. The dreadful disease Alzheimer's has already taken her from us in so many ways already.

I really do have wonderful memories of her...a lifetime of memories that I'm sure will be a comforting blanket to me as I begin to grieve her passing. I quickly jotted down things off the top of my head that I love about her. Her favorite color is green, she never had her ears pierced but wore clip on earrings every day, she bowled with my mom on a league for years, she traveled with us on family vacations, she didn't like to drive, she came to the hospital to see all 4 of my kids on their birthday, she sang them songs like "Jesus Loves the Little Children", she made angel food cake for birthday parties, she would pack KFC and donuts and lots more when we went out boating, she volunteered at the voting booths on Election Day, she always had a full candy dish at her house, you could always tell what presents she bought you because they were wrapped so impeccably, she had opinions and wasn't afraid to voice them, she followed professional sports and watched a lot of tennis, she had her favorite teams and was a Mariner's fan, she was a very good sofa referee, she visited her own mom frequently, she liked to shop but was very indecisive, and she could cook very well. My grandpa told us when we were young that he wished he was one of her grandkids--she is really that good of a grandma. My grandpa provided her with a good life and she lived most of adult life as a wife and stay at home mom. She was the gorilla strength glue that held our family together. I love her and I will miss her tremendously.

This is the oldest picture I have of my grandma...it's a four generation picture. Grandma is on the left, with her mom Pauline (in orange), her grandma Olive (in front), and my mom Debi (in plaid).