grandma
I found out last Saturday from my mom that my grandma had passed away the day before (she couldn't reach me on Friday). Grandma had been sick for quite a while, so it wasn't unexpected, but still, a lot of people in my family are taking it pretty hard. Especially my grandpa, who had been married to her for 64 years. I came about a week and a half ago to see her in the hospital, and she was very sick, but she did recognize me and everyone else there. I patted her on the arm, which had withered away to just skin and bones, and said something completely un-profound, like "Hi Grandma, hope you get better soon", knowing that it was very unlikely. Anyways, I came up to Syracuse this morning to go to the calling hours this afternoon, and tomorrow I'm going to be one of the pallbearers at the funeral. Emotionally I'm kind of numb right now. I don't think the fact that my grandma is gone has sunk in yet. I only have one grandparent still alive now, my grandpa on my mom's side, and he's been suffering from emphysema for a few years now, and currently is sick with pneumonia. My grandpa on my dad's side died a few months before I was born, and my grandma on my dad's side died when I was seven. My dad, of course, died a little over ten years ago, when I was twenty. I've been thinking a lot lately about my dad and both of my grandmas, and how much I miss them. Also wondering whether my genetic destiny is to live a long life into my 80's (like both grandparents on my mom's side), or whether I'm going to pass on sometime in my 50's or early 60's (like my dad and both grandparents on his side). It's quite possible that my life is already more than halfway over.