Sunday, December 16, 2007

how my grandmother died

My grandmother was incredibly strong.
She lived alone to the day she died and nothing stopped her from getting things done.

After my mother died and I finally had a car, I would go to see her (150 miles) fairly often because I needed to.

I would take her to the store, over to my aunts, out to see friends, to Bingo....

My grandmother was asked to speak to some young people, probably in their teens, about the history of her county. They were to be cleaning a graveyard in a very tiny town and she was to tell them about it.
She was looking forward to the event months before and would talk about it often.

She even had her hair done so she'd be spiffy.

The weekend before she was to give the talk I had planned to go see her, but I was wiped out and I called to excuse myself.

She went, on a senior coach, to the graveyard. The kids were working and she was telling them about the pioneers buried there.

There happens to be a building there, for meetings and recreation. They went inside and she was telling them more about it all when suddenly she told the teacher that she didn't feel so good and the teacher (who happens to have the same first name as my grandmother's mother) sat beside her and let my grandmother rest against her, and right there in front of those kids, in the teacher's arms, she smiled and slipped away.

I was at work when my father called to tell me and I lost it. That last time I could have gone hurt, but knowing she was gone... was so awful
(You know, never tell someone by phone if you can avoid it unless you know they are with someone who loves them and can hold them and keep them from shock.)

My aunt has called him and he and I drove to grandmother's as soon as we could.
All we knew is that she was gone and that even though she had a "Do Not Resuscitate" order by her front door, paramedics had worked on her.
This was the information my aunt had been able to get. My father and I went to her house and noticed that it was clean and nothing had been disturbed.
Dad knew that paramedics don't pick up after themselves.
We went home and he wrote to the local newspaper for information.
The teacher saw his note and wrote to Dad.

She was a good soldier's daughter. She finished her last mission and faded away.

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