Grandparentless
My grandmother passed away early this morning. We've known it was coming for a while now - I've been mentally preparing myself for years. And it's become more and more immanent since she moved into the assisted living center. Between my grandfather passing away early Dec. 25, 1997 and her birthday being Jan. 1, I was really expecting it to happen shortly after the holidays. When I went to visit on Saturday, she was getting short on breath just sitting up, so I suppose that was a huge clue that it would be 'extremely soon.' Between the drugs and the lack of oxygen getting to her brain, she'd been wavering in and out of loopy for about a month or more. With all of this, I somehow don't feel as 'sad' as I feel I ought to. I suppose there's also the factor that my spiritual beliefs don't really have much cause for sadness over death, only over missed opportunities - and with grandma having turned 89 less than a month ago, I feel her life was probably pretty full and fulfilled.
My brother and cousin don't deal with death nearly so well, so I can't decide if it's more ironic or appropriate that they're both overseas with no real means of being home for the viewing, etc. and I'm the one here.
Overall, I've been pretty lucky to have known all four of my grandparents, although I wish I'd been able to know some of them better as I've gotten older.
My brother and cousin don't deal with death nearly so well, so I can't decide if it's more ironic or appropriate that they're both overseas with no real means of being home for the viewing, etc. and I'm the one here.
Overall, I've been pretty lucky to have known all four of my grandparents, although I wish I'd been able to know some of them better as I've gotten older.