A SPECIAL HERO OF THE DAY!
Name: my grandmother
Age: was 89
Occupation: former special ed teacher
Last Seen: in the Great Beyond, dancing with my grandfather
Awarded For: being the best grandmother anybody could ever have
Age: was 89
Occupation: former special ed teacher
Last Seen: in the Great Beyond, dancing with my grandfather
Awarded For: being the best grandmother anybody could ever have
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On Friday at exactly noon, one of the greatest women who ever lived on this Earth left us.
This was a woman who overcame so much in life to become a great educator and most importantly, a better wife, mother and grandmother.
To me, she was simply Grandma.
My Grandma was born in Howard City, MI just before the start of the Great Depression. She was the third of four kids with a brother ten years older than her, a sister five years older than her and another sister five years younger than her. Her mother was a music teacher while her father was the town mailman.
When Grandma was young, she contracted polio. For the rest of her life, she had difficulty walking, but it didn't stop her. While attending Eastern Michigan University, her roommate introduced her to her brother, a strapping young man whom she ended up marrying.
That man, obviously, was my grandfather. The two were married for 49 years until his death from cancer in 2001.
Together, my grandparents had seven children, with my father being the first. Like my great-grandparents, my paternal grandparents had almost the same occupations. My grandfather was a mailman and Grandma was a schoolteacher like her mom, though she taught special ed. They all lived in a three-story ranch-style home in Troy, just outside Detroit where they raised dogs, cats and even a horse.
In the mid-80s, my grandparents retired and my father coaxed them into moving to northern Michigan. They moved into another three-story home that looked like it was from the 70s, complete with orange countertops and shag carpeting. It was a beautiful house with a nice, spacious living room, a steel spiral staircase that led to the upper floor and a downstairs game room with a pool table. All my family from downstate would come up to visit and while Grandpa golfed, my Grandma took me to the swimming pool at Grand Traverse Resort in her awesome Buick Skylark. I also remember all the shopping trips to Tom's Food Market in Acme, her favorite place to shop. I would remember all of their brothers and sisters visiting them as well. Ah, the memories of my Grandma and my great-aunt in the front seat listening to an old Teresa Brewer tape, singing "Music! Music! Music!" Gag.
It was tragic when they announced in 1998 that they were moving to Florida. My Grandpa battled dizzy spells for years, and when they vacationed down there, they disappeared. Around that time, I got my WebTV so we were able to email each other back and forth.
In 2000, my grandparents and an uncle of mine bought a trailer and it became their summer home. However, my Grandpa got cancer and died in 2001. Eventually, Grandma sold their home in Florida and moved back to Detroit full-time, mainly in an active senior residence. For us, Grandma was the centerpiece of the family and we all loved coming over to see her.
During the 2000s when it seemed that everybody in our family was struggling financially thanks to Dubya's policies, Grandma was nice enough to give us money when we needed it. When gas prices were over $4 per gallon, she gave us $100 for coming over to see her. When I collapsed at Chicago O'Hare Airport in 2006, she paid my medical bills. When a cousin of mine needed money to attend bartending school, she gave him the money.
Sadly, dementia caught up with her. One time, she called me her "nephew" even though I was her grandson. We all knew that eventually, assisted living would be in her future. And not long ago, it became reality.
I saw Grandma for the final time a few weeks ago in a hospital near Detroit. By then, she was like a roller coaster. Many days, she would be sleeping and some days, she would be awake, but not for long. When I saw her, she was awake, but didn't talk at all. She was weak and was fighting an infection, so we all had to wear aprons. My Dad and I both said our goodbyes. I was the one who walked out last. It was then I said, "goodbye, Grandma".
A week later, one of my cousins came to visit and she was wide awake, singing and talking. In a way, I felt like he should have been the one cousin saying goodbye to Grandma since both my grandparents seemed to be the ones raising him. His dad, their son was away working while his mom was working two jobs.
Two weeks ago, Grandma was placed in Hospice and her feeding tube was removed. When she died on Friday, my oldest aunt was watching over her as she passed. After work on Friday, I saw that my dad had left me a message. I called him and he told me the news.
When Grandma died, I didn't necessarily shed any tears. I knew that her decades of pain and suffering from polio had ended. Her later years were spent on a Rascal scooter going from point A to B. But now in the afterlife, she can move freely as she's reunited with Grandpa and all of the people in our family we've lost over the years, some too soon.
Sadly, at the same time all this is going on, my middle aunt has been stricken with brain cancer and is not doing good at all. She sleeps about 90% of the time and we think that she'll be joining Grandma real soon. When this happens, we're going to have a double burial.
But the good news is that I've had many great memories of all the great people in my life who have all left us. All four of my grandparents are all gone, but I've had wonderful memories of all of them. It's one milestone of my life that has passed, but it's time to create new ones.
The best thing of all this was that unlike my other three grandparents, I was able to say goodbye to my Grandma. However, it does sicken me that I'll be 37 this Saturday and I'm still single and childless. If I do have a child, my Grandma will never see the beginning of the sixth generation of my family. But then again, nothing's perfect.
Thanks, Grandma. Say hi to Grandpa for me.
---
On Friday at exactly noon, one of the greatest women who ever lived on this Earth left us.
This was a woman who overcame so much in life to become a great educator and most importantly, a better wife, mother and grandmother.
To me, she was simply Grandma.
My Grandma was born in Howard City, MI just before the start of the Great Depression. She was the third of four kids with a brother ten years older than her, a sister five years older than her and another sister five years younger than her. Her mother was a music teacher while her father was the town mailman.
When Grandma was young, she contracted polio. For the rest of her life, she had difficulty walking, but it didn't stop her. While attending Eastern Michigan University, her roommate introduced her to her brother, a strapping young man whom she ended up marrying.
That man, obviously, was my grandfather. The two were married for 49 years until his death from cancer in 2001.
Together, my grandparents had seven children, with my father being the first. Like my great-grandparents, my paternal grandparents had almost the same occupations. My grandfather was a mailman and Grandma was a schoolteacher like her mom, though she taught special ed. They all lived in a three-story ranch-style home in Troy, just outside Detroit where they raised dogs, cats and even a horse.
In the mid-80s, my grandparents retired and my father coaxed them into moving to northern Michigan. They moved into another three-story home that looked like it was from the 70s, complete with orange countertops and shag carpeting. It was a beautiful house with a nice, spacious living room, a steel spiral staircase that led to the upper floor and a downstairs game room with a pool table. All my family from downstate would come up to visit and while Grandpa golfed, my Grandma took me to the swimming pool at Grand Traverse Resort in her awesome Buick Skylark. I also remember all the shopping trips to Tom's Food Market in Acme, her favorite place to shop. I would remember all of their brothers and sisters visiting them as well. Ah, the memories of my Grandma and my great-aunt in the front seat listening to an old Teresa Brewer tape, singing "Music! Music! Music!" Gag.
It was tragic when they announced in 1998 that they were moving to Florida. My Grandpa battled dizzy spells for years, and when they vacationed down there, they disappeared. Around that time, I got my WebTV so we were able to email each other back and forth.
In 2000, my grandparents and an uncle of mine bought a trailer and it became their summer home. However, my Grandpa got cancer and died in 2001. Eventually, Grandma sold their home in Florida and moved back to Detroit full-time, mainly in an active senior residence. For us, Grandma was the centerpiece of the family and we all loved coming over to see her.
During the 2000s when it seemed that everybody in our family was struggling financially thanks to Dubya's policies, Grandma was nice enough to give us money when we needed it. When gas prices were over $4 per gallon, she gave us $100 for coming over to see her. When I collapsed at Chicago O'Hare Airport in 2006, she paid my medical bills. When a cousin of mine needed money to attend bartending school, she gave him the money.
Sadly, dementia caught up with her. One time, she called me her "nephew" even though I was her grandson. We all knew that eventually, assisted living would be in her future. And not long ago, it became reality.
I saw Grandma for the final time a few weeks ago in a hospital near Detroit. By then, she was like a roller coaster. Many days, she would be sleeping and some days, she would be awake, but not for long. When I saw her, she was awake, but didn't talk at all. She was weak and was fighting an infection, so we all had to wear aprons. My Dad and I both said our goodbyes. I was the one who walked out last. It was then I said, "goodbye, Grandma".
A week later, one of my cousins came to visit and she was wide awake, singing and talking. In a way, I felt like he should have been the one cousin saying goodbye to Grandma since both my grandparents seemed to be the ones raising him. His dad, their son was away working while his mom was working two jobs.
Two weeks ago, Grandma was placed in Hospice and her feeding tube was removed. When she died on Friday, my oldest aunt was watching over her as she passed. After work on Friday, I saw that my dad had left me a message. I called him and he told me the news.
When Grandma died, I didn't necessarily shed any tears. I knew that her decades of pain and suffering from polio had ended. Her later years were spent on a Rascal scooter going from point A to B. But now in the afterlife, she can move freely as she's reunited with Grandpa and all of the people in our family we've lost over the years, some too soon.
Sadly, at the same time all this is going on, my middle aunt has been stricken with brain cancer and is not doing good at all. She sleeps about 90% of the time and we think that she'll be joining Grandma real soon. When this happens, we're going to have a double burial.
But the good news is that I've had many great memories of all the great people in my life who have all left us. All four of my grandparents are all gone, but I've had wonderful memories of all of them. It's one milestone of my life that has passed, but it's time to create new ones.
The best thing of all this was that unlike my other three grandparents, I was able to say goodbye to my Grandma. However, it does sicken me that I'll be 37 this Saturday and I'm still single and childless. If I do have a child, my Grandma will never see the beginning of the sixth generation of my family. But then again, nothing's perfect.
Thanks, Grandma. Say hi to Grandpa for me.
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Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
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This reminds me of my grandpa (my dad's dad) who passed away in March 2016... Very sad
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