A Somber Goodbye

A few weeks ago, was my 27th Birthday. Yeah 27th creepy weird age, I think! I'm no longer in my early 20s, I am in my late 20s which now means closer to 30! That is just weird in my mind! Any-who, I was home for my birthday this year & it was quite a somber birthday. Not because of the weird age of 27 but because the night before, March 6th, my dear and lovely grandmother passed away peacefully. I was glad, to say the least, it was the day before & not on my actual birthday. But it was just a sad weekend & it made me not even care about my birthday at all.

I got the call Thursday morning that Grandma wasn't doing well and had been rushed to the ER. A few hours later I received the update that she was suffering from internal bleeding & blood clots. She did not look good & the Dr. only gave her hours to live. That night I decided to drive home that Saturday.

I followed my cousin & his family all the way to Idaho. It was a long trip. A weird trip. A sad trip. I had much time to think about Grandma & all of my fondest memories of her, which was bitter sweet. Minutes outside of town, we received the call that she had finally passed. Minutes. I was so sad! I wished I has left sooner, I wished I hadn't made that last stop, & I wished I was able to say, "I love you!" one last time. I was, however, so grateful that I had come up 3 weeks prior to celebrate her 82nd birthday. To see her & to hug her one last time.

While lots of family gathered over the next few days, we were flooded with memories, pictures, & OLD home videos. My cousin's family is famous for bringing out their old home movies, & for once I was so happy to see them. Because there were videos of my grandparents; both of them, laughing & talking & celebrating what ever that special occasion was. It made me realize how much I had missed my Papa Max & how much I will miss my Grandma Vora.

They are both wonderful people! I am so blessed that I could be a part of their lives. They were the ones who helped raise me & my sister. They were the ones who taught me about the church & the gospel. They are the ones who planted my testimony seed & I am forever grateful for that!

Listening to my Grandma's life sketch, it made me realize how much I want to be like her. She was so loving, so giving, so charitable. She never judged, or criticized others. She was a true disciple of Christ, she loved everyone. A quote, that I found while reading my Sandra Lee Magazine, sums my Grandma up to a T states: "Live simply, love generously, serve faithfully, speak truthfully, pray daily, leave everything else to God."