Memories

Today is the start of a bad week in history for my family. Twelve years ago today we said goodbye to my sweet Grandma. I can still remember that day clearly. I had spent most of the night before watching Grandma in the hospital. She was always such a fighter, and she wasn’t letting anyone down that night either. I went home early in the morning with just enough time to shower and get to work by 5 A.M.

I worked the first few hours of my shift with no word on Grandma. Shortly after my lunch break I received the dreaded call. My brother called to tell me Grandma had gone to Heaven a few minutes before. She was no longer hurting. Her body was new and perfect now, and she was no longer struggling.

I know that death is not final if we are saved and on our way to Heaven. But, I also know that we are still human and it still hurts. It hurts terribly. They (whoever “they” are) say that time helps heal. Time does seem to help, but the pain never completely goes away. I think that’s what proves that we loved someone. If we didn’t love someone, it wouldn’t hurt when they left this earth, would it? I highly doubt it. If you love someone, it’s going to hurt in some way when they graduate to eternity.

So why do we love other people? If we know we are just going to get hurt somehow, why should we love anyone? Because we are people. People need other people. People need the support system of loved ones and family. People need the social aspect of being with other people. If we didn’t have those deep ties to other people, we would end up severely depressed. There would be a host of issues for humans if we didn’t have love for other people.

Yes, there are those people who are introverts. I am one of them. I REALLY enjoy being by myself and not having to interact with other people. I get physically exhausted when I have to spend too much time interacting with people in some way or another. But, I know I need those times of socialization because I will get depressed if I don’t have that time. I know I need to love other people. Will it hurt at times? Definitely. But that is how God made us. He wants us to empathize with other people and to love them. We NEED that love, that interaction, and that relationship.

My Grandma was amazing at making friends with anyone and everyone. She was so good at making everyone feel at home. It didn’t matter if she had just met you, or if she had known you for 20 years, she treated everyone the same way. She loved people. She knew how important relationships are. Relationships are key.

Grandma was more than a friend. She was like a second mother. We spent a lot of time at Grandma’s house when my parents were working. We loved going to Grandma’s. She taught me how to care for a garden and harvest the vegetables. She taught me how to can those vegetables and how to make fruit jellies. She taught me how to sew embroidery and cross stitch. She taught me how to look for a good deal at garage sales and how to give people a good deal at your own garage sale. She taught me how to treat people with kindness and respect.

I hope I can teach my children half the things she taught me. And maybe I can teach my grandchildren the other half of what she taught me. She was an amazing woman. I can’t even explain how much she meant to me. I looked up to that woman so much. She was the best role model anyone could ask for and more. And I had her for 19 wonderful years.

I hope and pray that I can live up to my Grandma’s legacy someday. I hope I can be half the woman she was. If I can accomplish that, my children will be better off for it. I’m so thankful that God allowed me to have a Grandma like her. I’m thankful that God has given me the gift of being able to see my Grandma again. I’m not going to rush getting to Heaven, but I’m so excited to get there! I can’t wait to see Grandma again! It will be so much fun to give her a huge hug and to see her sweet face again.

I wish I could do justice to how wonderful my Grandma was, but I really don’t have the words to describe just how wonderful she was.

Leave me a comment below with some of your favorite memories of your Grandma. I can’t wait to read them!