Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Grandma's Treasures

My last blog post was on April 9th. In it, I stated that grandma was doing very well, and we all hoped she'd be home from the nursing home soon. As it turned out, the only time she left the nursing home was to go to the hospital, and there she passed away on April 18th. She had suffered for the past two years, and we were glad for her sake, that when the end came, it came quickly. We held a beautiful memorial service for her, a celebration of life, with many of her children and grandchildren singing her favorite songs. Then we drove 4 1/2 hours to "take her home" to her the place she was born and raised; the place she wanted to be laid to rest.
As weeks passed, my mom and I began going through grandma's things, (she had lived with my mom and stepfather for the past year, when she wasn't in the nursing home) and oh, the treasures we found! While putting away her "underthings' we ran across her marriage certificate from 1947, that she swore she had lost! We discovered pictures in recipe boxes, newsclippings stuffed into nooks and crannys. Each of these items was like a little kiss from grandma, and slowly helped to heal the sadness of our loss. I miss you grandma, but am so glad your suffering has ended!
(This picture was among our finds... the first picture I've ever seen of grandma's mother-in-law, my great grandmother, Vernon McFann Malone.)