(no subject)
My former babysitter passed away this past Tuesday. She was the closest person to me that I've ever had to mourn. Our relationship was not like most nanny-child relationships. She was a part of the family; like a third parent to me and my brother. She had raised me since I was 8 weeks old, so that both my parents could work full time jobs, and even drove me to work and cared for me when I was sick through high school. She participated in the PTA and Girl Scouts, since my parents didn't have the time. Any good part of my personality can be attributed to her. She was a classy lady with a heart of gold, who didn't take any bullshit from anyone. I was so unbelievably lucky to have her in my life and I'll never forget her.
I wish I could have said goodbye, though. I hadn't seen her in a long time; probably over a year ago, and we hadn't talked on the phone much either. She's had breathing problems in the last few years and was reliant on an oxygen tank. Apparently, she had been diagnosed with lung cancer 3 years ago, and didn't tell anyone. She decided that she didn't want to go through chemo and be in and out of hospitals; when it was her time, it was her time. She was just that kind of person. Her nephew was telling me how in the last month or so, she started smoking again, and was eating whatever she damn felt like, because she just wanted to enjoy the end of her life. I can only hope that I'll be that badass one day when I'm old and sick.
The wake/funeral was pretty surreal. I didn't know or remember many people, but almost everyone knew me. They were all coming up to me and telling me how much Sis talked about me and how proud she was of me. Her family was calm, and my mom and I were crying pretty much the whole time. It was open-casket, which I'm not used to, as a Jew, but I was able to deal with it. She barely looked like herself anyway, between being skinnier from being sick and the gobs of makeup that they use on the skin. Also, my mom and I being the only Jews there, we were a little lost during all the hymns and such, in a comical way.
I think her life was cut a bit short, at 74 years old, but she lived a full and happy life. I'm glad it happened at a point in my life where I'm mature enough to understand and deal with it. I'll miss her dearly, but I'll always have the memories.
Phyllis "Sis" Johnson
1936-2010
I wish I could have said goodbye, though. I hadn't seen her in a long time; probably over a year ago, and we hadn't talked on the phone much either. She's had breathing problems in the last few years and was reliant on an oxygen tank. Apparently, she had been diagnosed with lung cancer 3 years ago, and didn't tell anyone. She decided that she didn't want to go through chemo and be in and out of hospitals; when it was her time, it was her time. She was just that kind of person. Her nephew was telling me how in the last month or so, she started smoking again, and was eating whatever she damn felt like, because she just wanted to enjoy the end of her life. I can only hope that I'll be that badass one day when I'm old and sick.
The wake/funeral was pretty surreal. I didn't know or remember many people, but almost everyone knew me. They were all coming up to me and telling me how much Sis talked about me and how proud she was of me. Her family was calm, and my mom and I were crying pretty much the whole time. It was open-casket, which I'm not used to, as a Jew, but I was able to deal with it. She barely looked like herself anyway, between being skinnier from being sick and the gobs of makeup that they use on the skin. Also, my mom and I being the only Jews there, we were a little lost during all the hymns and such, in a comical way.
I think her life was cut a bit short, at 74 years old, but she lived a full and happy life. I'm glad it happened at a point in my life where I'm mature enough to understand and deal with it. I'll miss her dearly, but I'll always have the memories.
Phyllis "Sis" Johnson
1936-2010