Saturday, June 27, 2009

Grandma: my hero

"We laid in bed giggling about stupid things we would accidentally say and dumb things we'd done...and she kept saying, 'Life is beautiful'. 'Man, life sure is beautiful'."

I spent yesterday and this morning with my grandma, and I'm kind of overwhelmed. She's not doing well physically, so we had lots of down time to just talk. She has been one of the strongest influences in my life (other than, of course, my immediate family and Chris), and these last couple of days I gained a strong appreciation of what has molded her into the woman that has so strongly influenced my life.

Grandma is a consistent example of unrelenting love and persistent joy in my life and so many others. She's currently entering what are probably the first stages of dementia, and has suffered several small strokes, leaving her with severe headaches and trouble walking. She's 98 pounds and getting smaller...and yet she's as feisty as ever. :) She forgets words and laughs about it. She almost tips over and makes a joke about her clumsiness. And, she always smiles...always ALWAYS smiles.

Lord, let me be a strong example of your unrelenting love and overflowing joy. Thank you for sending a physical example of that love in grandma. Please bless her and encourage her, and let her know that she's not alone, and is so loved by so many.

This is the lullaby she sang to me for years and years...and we sang it together again this weekend. It felt especially sweet since Chris and I are going overseas. As you can imagine, my eyes didn't stay dry much on this trip.

Baby's boat's a silver moon, sailing in the sky.
Sailing on a sea of dreams, while the clouds roll by.
Sail baby, sail, far across the sea.
Only, don't forget to sail back again to me.

I love you grams. :)

You're my hero.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You are exactly the kind of granddaughter that she deserves. She is blessed by your appreciation. Love, Yvonne