My Grandma

picture of grandma 2 days before she was laid to rest

Last night my dear grandma died. She was an incredible woman. As I watched her take her last breath it was both heart wrenching and relieving. She has been suffering from one of the most terrible diseases I have ever seen, both for her and her family. She had Alzheimer's disease.
The last few years have been filled with grief, suffering and joy. Until the last couple of months whenever I saw her, she still had a little of herself showing through. I have great memories of her telling me the SAME story every 5 minutes. I would try to avoid THE STORY, but now I wish she would tell it to me one last time. I can't even remember the last time she did tell it to me.
She is the one to show me yarn, and what to do with it. While recovering from her hip replacement I came to stay with her and grandpa to help, and in that time she taught me how to crochet. She was so patient with me. I can see how in her mind, one of her greatest accomplishments was teaching. She taught me so much.
She showed me that you can go outside of your comfort zone and greet any person over to your house just because they are visitors at church. I never saw her not greet someone with a warm handshake and a genuine smile. She always had a way of showing people where she came from and it is nothing to be ashamed of. Her history of losing siblings, having polio, being dirt poor, getting run over by a car and having her mom tell her she wasn't going to amount to much made her a very strong woman.
She was so independent, even when she couldn't physically take care of grandpa anymore she still wanted to make sure he had coffee in his hand and food prepared for him. This also made it difficult on us to try and help her, I have never seen such stubbornness. She was always looking for grandpa, even when she was at the care facility.
Her love for her family was apparent. She always knew I "belonged" to her. I loved that feeling. Even when I knew she couldn't say my name, I could tell that there was recognition, even if she just thought I helped take care of her.
Grandma, you will always "belong" to me. I will tell of you often to your great grandchildren and will never forget THE STORY, and can't wait to meet you in heaven. I know you will be introducing yourself to everyone and telling them of your legacy of life. It is a great story, I don't know any one who wouldn't want to listen.