Death

For now, Death is something that we all must face at some point in our lives, be it our own death or the death of a loved one.

I write this because down the hall, my Granny is dying.  The past few months her health has been failing and she has had a couple of extended stays in the hospital.  After the last one, we made her come live with us because she would not be capable of caring for herself.

At first, she was going strong but slowly, her health has declined.  Today, my parents took her to her doctor for a check up.  The doctor told my parents that she had suffered a stroke and now has pneumonia.  The doctor also said they had two options.  Stick her in the hospital or take her home.  Her time is short on this Earth.

Granny is my dad’s mother.  She is a wonderful woman.  I have so many wonderful memories of her and the time we’ve spent together.  Memories such as when I was in elementary school and sick and mom was working, so she dropped me off at Granny’s house for the day.  I would lay on the couch all day and watch television and she would cook me lunch.  I remember watching the old black and white giant insect movies. 

Or how wonderful her black eye peas taste.  Or her banana pudding.  The smell of her house.  The memory of when we were kids, playing in the yard which was so big but which is so small now.  Of the honeysuckle that grew on the fence and we would pull the flowers off and eat the sweet nectar out of them.  Of staying the weekend, especially during the winter, waking up in the morning and running into her room to snuggle under the covers with her.  Christmas Eve at her house and the stockings she had for each of us grand kids. 

So many wonderful memories that I will cherish forever.  I am preparing myself for the day that she doesn’t wake up, the day that she finally leaves us.

A few years ago, my Maw Maw, my mom’s mother, passed away.  She was a quirky awesome woman.  My parents and sisters left before to drive to Mississippi because I could not get off of work to do so.  So that Friday, I left that morning to drive to Mississippi.  When I arrived, they and my cousins and aunts and uncle were at the cemetery preparing to dig her grave and prepare it for the funeral the next day.

So I spent the next couple of house digging her grave next to my grandfather and uncle’s grave.  This was in June, so by the time we were finished, all of her grandsons were soaked in sweat.  The funeral was the next day, a Catholic funeral but short and sweet.  We then moved to the cemetery for the service at the grave.  After that, they lowered her into the ground.  Everyone left except myself, my mother and father, my Aunt Cathy and Uncle Danny and my cousin Joseph who is called Curly.  Me and Curly filled her grave in.

The whole process was very cathartic and helped me with my grief.  I think if I could do this for every family member it would help me personally when dealing with my grief.  Of course my parents want to be cremated and I am fine with that.  I don’t want to be buried either.  Give me a Viking funeral and my soul will be happy to cross over Bifrost into whatever afterlife awaits me.

I will deal with the grief of Granny’s passing when it happens but it will be hard for me.  I was thinking of what we did for Maw Maw and how it helped me and how unfortunate that I won’t be able to lay Granny to rest in the same manner.

I will be strong for my family when that time comes.