Friday, August 24, 2007

Goodbye Great Grandma

My great grandma passed away last night. She was in a nursing home for the last year or almost two years now, she was 88. When Emma was born, we had 5 generations and the photo we took with Grandma is below. That photo has been in our living room ever since we had it taken, along with the other photo below of her with my Great Grandpa, he passed away when I was little so I really don't remember him.

I always remember going to my great grandma's house as a kid and playing with the old toys that were there for years that my mom and her cousins played with.
I can remember the smell of her front porch where we played, the feel of the cushions on the couch out there and the pattern of the carpet.

I remember the sound of the police scanner she always had on.

She always had a candy dish with the best chocolates in it and she'd always offer us some when we were over.

I remember the sound of the cuckoo clock and the ticking of the dining room clock.

I remember looking at the organ in the living room and the big old stereo in the dining room, wondering if she ever sat and played them when no one was around, and sometimes wanting to play myself.

I remember the mystery of the rest of the house since we'd only really be in the porch, living room, dining room, briefly the kitchen and maybe the bathroom a couple of times. I always remember wondering what the upstairs was like, the bedrooms my grandma and great aunts grew up in, great grandma's bedroom always made me curious since it was just off the living room/dining room area.

Not long ago, after great grandma was put in the nursing home, I remember my grandma found a drawer somewhere or somethign that had cards we had sent her, photos we'd given her, our wedding invitation and program, etc. It was really special to see that she kept those things like that.

I couldn't find the photo today, but I also remember she couldn't get around too well 4 years ago when we got married so we had the limo driver take us there to stop and say hi while we were all dressed up and I always felt like a moron looking at the photo later and seeing I still had my stupid sunglasses on!

I remember when we took the five generation photo we offered to have her hold Emma that day but she was too afraid of dropping her so we had her sit next to me while I held her and Emma kept looking at her and cooing at her and made her laugh.

Every time we visited her at the nursing home, which wasn't often enough, Emma made her smile, made her laugh. I'm really happy for that and will always hold onto those memories.

6 comments:

Mary said...

Awww, I'm so sorry for your loss Michelle... It's good that she got to see you and her great-great grand baby though.

Right now she is in heaven and feeling good once again! No more aches and pains, and right about now I bet she is strolling through a beautiful garden thinking of her family.

((((HUGS))))

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry for your loss! How awesome it must have been for your daughter to have a great-great grandma, if even for a little bit.
Your memories are wonderful, keep them in your heart and your great-grandma will always be with you.

Melissa said...

So sorry to hear about your loss, Michelle.

How neat that she got to meet Em and share so many great milestones in your life. It sounds like you were someone really special to her.

Hang in there, kiddo. If you need anything, you know where to find me.

Anonymous said...

Im so sorry for your lose thos are special memories hold onto them!!

and beatiful photos as well!!

Unknown said...

Aw, I'm so sorry to hear about that! It's so great that you and your family got to have her for so long! And those memories are what will keep her alive in your heart. Hugs!

Anonymous said...

Sorry for your loss and I hope that you can continue to remember those great memories and pass them down to your daughter!