Thanks for all your condolences about grandma! Mom called today with her sisters and Joelle, and seemed to be in good spirits! Mom said grandma was really struggling to breathe, and they kept saying "it's alright, you can go! Be at peace!" There's this channel on YouTube of a hospice nurse that talks about the reality of death and shows patients right before death, to normalize it and prepare us. I don't know WHY one of her videos popped up on my YouTube feed, but I had to watch because I'm way too curious lol. Mom sent a video before grandma died, and she indeed looked like the "actively dying" patients in the video. When it happened, it was pretty quick. She relaxed, her face became calm, she smiled, and soon ceased breathing. Wow! I'm glad it was so peaceful. Gina said to look for signs grandma is talking to me from the other side (there HAS to be one..if there was nothing, Cherry wouldn't have been able to say hi to me through my phone!), like if I pick up a book and don't know why, or have a dream or something (my previous cats visit me in my dreams, Pumpkin is just as grumpy in the afterlife as she was in real life LOL). Mom said she was talking to Jack and her dog Buddy before she died..probably why she looked so peaceful!
They're not sure when exactly the funeral is, but if I want to go at all, I have to leave tonight ahead of that crazy ice/snow storm that's coming tomorrow night, which will definitely mess things up for awhile (Ryan can't go because he doesn't have any more time off work). Yaaay, all night flying. :/ On the last flight I got the very last seat, in the middle..ugh. I'm excited to see everyone..I'm sure we'll have lots of memories of grandma to share! For the funeral, we're going to wear blue, because it was grandma's favorite color..I like that! I'm going to get her jacket that I wore to Cherry's grave, because it's special, and her copy of Hawaii..that's all I really want (ok, and maybe her curtains LOL). I hope I don't get sick again from traveling D:
One song I like to sing to is "Riders on the Storm," and I looked up the lyrics this morning because dad was listening to it (he LOVES the Doors), and I was surprised by this lyric: "an actor out on loan." I thought it was "an actor out alone"! Oops lol. I also read Jim Morrison whispers in the background on top of the singing, and now I can't unhear it haha..eerie!
I don't really read any, unless online ones count? Some of them do best books of the year, and I like to make lists on List Challenges of their best books of the year lol
October
1. What Rites of Passage Have You Participated In?
2. Will Humans Live on Mars In Our Lifetime?
3. Do/Did You Ever Hang Out at the Mall?
4. Do You Unknowingly Submit to Peer Pressure?
5. Is Breakfast Really the Most Important Meal of the Day?
6. What Public Behavior Annoys You Most?
7. What Superpower Do You Wish You Had?
8. What’s Special About Your Hometown?
9. How Materialistic Are You?
10. Should the Private Lives of Famous People Be Off Limits?
11. What Are Your Opinions on Cosmetic Surgery?
12. What Habits Do You Have, and Have You Ever Tried to Change Them?
13. Does Keeping a Messy Desk Make People More Creative?
14. Does Reading a Book Count More Than Listening to One?
15. Are You a Novelty-Seeker?
16. How Strong Is Your Sense of Smell?
17. Are There Topics That Should Be Off Limits to Comedy?
18. What Animal Are You Most Like?
19. What Magazines Do You Read, and How Do You Read Them?
20. Would You Like to Live in Another Country?
21. What’s the Coolest Thing You’ve Ever Seen in a Museum?
22. Are You a Good Listener?
23. Do We Still Need Libraries?
24. How Do You Celebrate Your Birthday?
25. When Have You Failed? What Did You Learn From It?
26. What Activities Make You Feel Most Alive?
27. Where, and How, Do You Watch Movies?
28. What Is Your Favorite Street?
29. When Do You Remember Learning a New Word?
30. Is Amazon Becoming Too Powerful?
31. Will You Be Wearing a Halloween Costume This Year?
November
1. Are You Hard or Easy on Yourself?
2. What Teacher Would You Like to Thank?
3. What Health Tips Have Worked for You?
4. How Do Male and Female Roles Differ in Your Family?
5. What Are Your Longtime Interests or Passions?
6. Do You Have a Hard Time Making Decisions?
7. Were You Ever the ‘New Kid’?
8. How Much Freedom Did Your Parents Give You?
9. What Motivates You?
10. Have You Ever Posted, Emailed or Texted Something You Wish You Could Take Back?
11. What Challenges Have You Overcome?
12. What Do You Wish You Could See, Hear, Read or Experience for the First Time All Over Again?
13. Would You Quit if Your Values Did Not Match Your Employer’s?
14. Are You More Or Less Religious Than Your Parents?
15. Do You Recognize Yourself in Descriptions of ‘Generation Z’?
16. Do Machines Represent a Threat to Humans?
17. What Good Can Come from Disagreements?
18. Is Modern Culture Ruining Childhood?
19. What’s the Most Memorable Thing You Ever Got in the Mail?
20. How Did You Learn About Sex?
21. How Often Do You Interact With People of Another Race or Ethnicity?
22. Do You Suffer From Anxiety?
23. What Are Your Thanksgiving Traditions?
24. Will Your Family Members Disagree With Each Other About Politics This Thanksgiving?
25. What Do You Look Forward to Most - and Least - During the Holiday Season?
26. What Does Santa Claus Mean to You?
27. What Is Your Most Prized Possession?
28. What Are You Grateful For?
29. Did You Take Part in Any Post-Thanksgiving Shopping?
30. Under What Conditions Do You Do Your Best Work?
December
1. How Often Do You Leave Your ‘Comfort Zone’?
2. With Whom Would You Share Your Passwords? How About Your Debit Card and PIN?
3. What Would You Do if You Won the Lottery?
4. When in Your Life Have You Been a Leader?
5. How Should You Handle the End of a Friendship?
6. What’s the Best Advice You’ve Gotten?
7. What Is Your All-Time Favorite Piece of Clothing?
8. What Small Things Have You Seen and Taken Note Of Today?
9. How Should Parents Discipline Their Kids?
10. How Do You Get Your Nature Fix?
11. When Should You Compromise?
12. How Important Is Keeping a Clean House?
13. Does Stress Affect Your Ability to Make Good Decisions?
14. What’s the Best Gift You’ve Ever Given or Received?
15. What Annoys You?
16. If the World Was Ending, What Would You Want to Do?
17. What Role Does Procrastination Play in Your Life?
18. Have You Ever Changed Your Mind About a Hot-Button Issue?
19. What Are the Best Things You’ve Watched, Read, Heard or Played This Year?
20. Was There a Toy You Wanted as a Child but Never Got?
21. Have You Ever Given, or Received, a Perfect Gift?
22. When Is the Last Time You Did Something Nice for a Stranger?
23. Do You Ever Eavesdrop?
24. What Things Did You Create When You Were a Child?
25. What Are the Best Things in Life and Are They Free?
26. How Stoic Are You?
27. As A Child/Teen - Where Did You Think You Would Live When You Were an Adult?
28. What Role Will Robots Play in Our Future?
29. If You Had Siblings - Did Your Parents Treat You Differently? If Not, Did You Wish You Had Siblings?
30. Do You Look Forward to New Year’s Eve?
31. Do You Make New Year’s Resolutions?