Last week an amazing and wonderful woman was taken from this earth. I won’t say that she was taken too soon, because she was 91 and we were lucky to have her in our lives that long, but I will say that she will be forever missed. I know I am biased but I don’t think any grand daughter out there could be as lucky as I was to call her my Grandma. At the end we only wanted peace for her. All she wanted to do was meet my Grandpa in heaven so they could dance together again. 7 years and 1 day (to the day) that he passed, she left us to go meet him. It was time for them to reunite.

My Grandma was a HUGE part of my life. Although they lived 2 1/2 hours away, that never stopped them from being with us as much as possible. They would spend a week at a time at our house, and we would do the same when we visited them. I have so many wonderful memories in my grandparents house. Looking at it now it seems so small, and I wonder how everyone was able to stay under one room, but at the time it was just comfortable and fun. The funniest part is thinking about the little things that made us so happy like playing with an old box of toys that they kept that was my moms, or turning a simple couch into a bed at night. We looked forward to it every time we were there.

The joke was that my Grandma was “the general”. She was always in charge. She would tell it like it is, and you couldn’t get away with much. We loved that about her because in the end she would always smile. She was impeccably neat. It was unacceptable to have a wrinkle in my clothes or a string hanging from anywhere. If you looked into her closets you would find drapes that were labeled with the date of when she last washed and ironed them. I can honestly say I never wash and iron my drapes let alone label them. Amazing. Even though she was a pack rat and kept everything you would never guess, because her house was so neat and tidy. Even when she was living alone and in her 80’s I think she dusted more than I ever did.

My Grandma was a great baker. She loved her sweets. My favorite were her blueberry muffins. I am so happy that she was nice enough to give me all of her recipes before she passed. My sister and I even put together a bunch of those recipes into a cookbook. I will cherish that forever. She always told me her secret ingredient was love….and I know that is why her food tasted so amazing. She loved everything about cooking and baking. It was apparent in the taste.

I was blessed to be with her during her last week here on earth. She was a shell of the woman that hugged and sang to me through out my childhood. We knew it was time to let her go. She was put into hospice. It was the first experience I had ever had with hospice and I am so thankful she was in such a peaceful place with nurses who were so giving and understanding. She needed so much care, and they gave her that and more

I will cry every time I tell or even think of this story, but this is what we were told about her last few moments….The nurse was with her and they prayed together. My Grandma said amen. The nurse found out that she only wanted to dance the polka with my Grandpa again so she found a CD with polka music and began to play it. It was then that my Grandma passed away. I like to believe that my Grandpa came for her then, and I know that they are together dancing in heaven.

It must be very hard to outlive so many in your life, and that is exactly what my Grandma did. She was one tough lady. I take so much comfort in knowing that she is back with the love of her life…her Charlie, my Grandpa. With them is all her family and friends that have gone before her. It’s always the people left behind that are affected the most. We are the ones left with so many memories. I am so blessed that all my memories are good ones. It feels selfish to always want her here. I know that she had to go. It was time, but I’m still so sad. She will be forever missed.

I love you Grandma.