Since I shared a story of my Grandfather yesterday, it's only fair you get to hear something about my grandmother today as I love and miss them both very much. My grandmother outlived my grandfather by almost 8 years, however in June of 2005 (wow, I can't believe it's been that long) she suffered a stroke in her home from which she would never recover. All of the doctors thought she would die that evening. She didn't, but she was never my "grandmother" again. The entire left side of her body was paralyzed and she lost most all memory and cognitive function...she couldn't talk or even write to get a thought out. She could interact with us as her care givers, but we aren't quite sure she understood we were "family" although she may have on occasion because sometimes when we had to bath her, change her, and groom her she would flush as if she was embarrassed. We always told her not to worry because she had seen the behind of everyone in this room too many times to count, and this was the least we could do after she raised 5 girls, 12 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren (that number has grown since then, but I digress). One time I brought my wedding album, since it was one month prior to her stroke, for her to look through because she was in a lot of pictures and I asked if she remembered that day....she just shook her head no. We always wondered what she did and didn't remember because she still looked longingly at the picture of my grandfather by her bedside. Maybe that is the power of true love, I'm not sure.
During all of this time (after her brief ICU stay immediately following the incident) my grandmother was in a nursing home. We had someone in our family with her every minute of the day, and I always visited her for hours on Friday nights. That is how DH and I spent our weekends that summer.....with my grandmother. Well one evening Thomas and I showed up and my aunt was there as well, so I started telling her the story of how I had lost my flip flop on the way to Greensboro because it flew out the window. DH and I hadn't laughed that hard in quite some time. Basically we were riding down the road, windows down, enjoying the day. Usually on longer car rides I take my shoes off and sit crossed-legged in the front see. Well, about half way there I look down and see a bee on my flip-flop. I'm allergic to bees so I wanted it out of the car as quickly as possible and decided I could just pick up my shoe and flick it out the window....no big deal. So I proceeded to do so and as soon as a flicked it, the wind caught my shoe with such force it blew it out of my hand and onto the highway at about 60 miles an hour. DH said my face was absolutely priceless, I was stunned it happened for a minute and then we both laughed until we started crying. So as I am repeating this story both DH and I start laughing again as well as my aunt.....then right after I get to the part about the shoe my grandmother looks at me eyes wide, jaw dropped and starts to laugh in the only way she can figure out how. I will NEVER forget that moment....it was the last time I truly connected with her before she passed away about a month later. She took a drastic turn for the worst right after that, ended up back in the hospital and eventually passed away in her home, on hospice, with all of her family there. I will never forget that moment either....holding her hand while she died, peaceful yet sad.....but that face, that look of surprise....the moment of connection after so long....was absolutely beautiful.
Thank you God for my lost shoe.
Showing posts with label stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stories. Show all posts
Friday, February 15, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Right or Left?
I haven't told one of my life stories in awhile, so here it goes. Actually this isn't a story about MY life per se, but my Mom's life that I heard at my grandfather's funeral.
There are a lot of things I remember about my grandfathers funeral (10 years ago), but one thing that sticks out was a story the pastor told about him. My mom was one of five girls, all two years apart. Apparently when they were little my grandparents would take them out for ice cream on Sundays....sometimes. There was an intersection in the road home from church and if my grandfather turned the car left they were going home and if he went right the girls knew it was ice cream time. However, he couldn't do this every Sunday and of course the girls always whined when they didn't get their weekly treat. My grandfather would always tell them it was because someone wasn't good that week, etc, etc and that the ice cream was a reward so they didn't get it. In reality, as we learned at his funeral, my grandfather always felt extremely guilty on the Sunday's he couldn't get his babies ice cream....the truth was he couldn't afford the .10 cents a cone that week. He always wanted the best for his girls, and he felt guilty over .50 cents. Fifty cents made him feel like a bad father on those weeks he had to turn left, and he talked about it to his paster and friend years later.
I like this story for several reasons, all of which I am sure cannot be captured in a blog. Number one, it lets me in on a story about my grandfather I didn't know before, and I always appreciate that (sort of like the time I found out he was the 2nd wave on the beaches of Normandy). Number two, it seems crazy to me that he felt so bad over that ice cream considering the wonderful man, husband, father, and grandfather he was. However, just the fact he felt guilty over something so silly shows what a wonderful person he was. He was a great man, and I consider myself lucky to be his granddaughter because knowing someone like that makes you want to be a better person, and I still catch myself wondering if he would be proud.
There are a lot of things I remember about my grandfathers funeral (10 years ago), but one thing that sticks out was a story the pastor told about him. My mom was one of five girls, all two years apart. Apparently when they were little my grandparents would take them out for ice cream on Sundays....sometimes. There was an intersection in the road home from church and if my grandfather turned the car left they were going home and if he went right the girls knew it was ice cream time. However, he couldn't do this every Sunday and of course the girls always whined when they didn't get their weekly treat. My grandfather would always tell them it was because someone wasn't good that week, etc, etc and that the ice cream was a reward so they didn't get it. In reality, as we learned at his funeral, my grandfather always felt extremely guilty on the Sunday's he couldn't get his babies ice cream....the truth was he couldn't afford the .10 cents a cone that week. He always wanted the best for his girls, and he felt guilty over .50 cents. Fifty cents made him feel like a bad father on those weeks he had to turn left, and he talked about it to his paster and friend years later.
I like this story for several reasons, all of which I am sure cannot be captured in a blog. Number one, it lets me in on a story about my grandfather I didn't know before, and I always appreciate that (sort of like the time I found out he was the 2nd wave on the beaches of Normandy). Number two, it seems crazy to me that he felt so bad over that ice cream considering the wonderful man, husband, father, and grandfather he was. However, just the fact he felt guilty over something so silly shows what a wonderful person he was. He was a great man, and I consider myself lucky to be his granddaughter because knowing someone like that makes you want to be a better person, and I still catch myself wondering if he would be proud.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Storytime!
So I debated about how to do this story thing, whether I should start from my earliest childhood, do random events, or talk about the latest stuff first; however I figure I will start with the most basic one today...how Thomas and I met. Since there is an age difference between my husband and I we often get asked how we got together...so here it goes....
I always find it funny how all of life circumstances leads you to where you are today, and how each decision paves the way for your adulthood. So, in reality the story of Thomas and I meeting can be dated back to my HS years. All throughout HS I had a steady BF that I started to date the beginning of my Sophomore year. By the time senior year rolled around we were still together (although we had our issues and probably should have broken up before this point) and since we both wanted to go to UNCG down in Greensboro we got an apartment together there after graduation. As it turned out I decided to take a year off from school and ended up working full time at a Vet's office while he worked part time (sometimes) and went to school. This was in Aug and by the 1st week in Oct. we had broken up, however we remained roommates because of our lease. Although one would think this situation would end terribly it was probably the best our relationship had been in a year.....apparently we really were better off as friends. So as couples who break up always do, we started dating other people. Also, as young people often do....we began to date our friends and each other friends....he dated a girl he was close with in HS and I started dating her ex-BF (sort of ironic huh?).
Well, my ex-BF's girlfriend's ex (did you catch that?) i.e-the guy I was dating at the time, worked at Old Navy in my hometown, and on his birthday he wanted me to go out with him and meet up with some people he worked with at a local restaurant/bar (do you see where this is going yet?). Yeah, Thomas was one of his co-workers. So we officially met the first week in April of 2004....he was 29, I was 19. I thought he was cute and ended up being fun to talk to, but he had a girlfriend and I of course was dating his co-worker. Looking back on it I never really considered him dating material- one, the age difference (although he did not look almost 30 at all!) and two, he just wasn't my "type" (and hell, if you want to get technical, he's still not). Anyways, fast foreword to the end of May where me and the birthday boy had broken up (but remained friends) and I decided to stop into Old Navy one day to say hello, and as it turns out Thomas was there working that day too so we met again. After this second meeting I thought he would be a fun guy to hang out with so I asked my friend (yes, the ex) for his number which in turn he told Thomas and I asked and gave him my number. He called after a few days and we talked on the phone for a week or two before having our first date. We went to a local restaurant and to the movies to see Shrek 2 ( I have a soft spot for Pixar, lol)....and well, I guess the rest is history. We got engaged a month later and married in May of 2005. We are polar opposites but somehow we make it work. I certainly wasn't looking for a husband when I asked for his number, and he had pretty much given up on dating at the time but as it turns out he fell in love instead.
I always find it funny how all of life circumstances leads you to where you are today, and how each decision paves the way for your adulthood. So, in reality the story of Thomas and I meeting can be dated back to my HS years. All throughout HS I had a steady BF that I started to date the beginning of my Sophomore year. By the time senior year rolled around we were still together (although we had our issues and probably should have broken up before this point) and since we both wanted to go to UNCG down in Greensboro we got an apartment together there after graduation. As it turned out I decided to take a year off from school and ended up working full time at a Vet's office while he worked part time (sometimes) and went to school. This was in Aug and by the 1st week in Oct. we had broken up, however we remained roommates because of our lease. Although one would think this situation would end terribly it was probably the best our relationship had been in a year.....apparently we really were better off as friends. So as couples who break up always do, we started dating other people. Also, as young people often do....we began to date our friends and each other friends....he dated a girl he was close with in HS and I started dating her ex-BF (sort of ironic huh?).
Well, my ex-BF's girlfriend's ex (did you catch that?) i.e-the guy I was dating at the time, worked at Old Navy in my hometown, and on his birthday he wanted me to go out with him and meet up with some people he worked with at a local restaurant/bar (do you see where this is going yet?). Yeah, Thomas was one of his co-workers. So we officially met the first week in April of 2004....he was 29, I was 19. I thought he was cute and ended up being fun to talk to, but he had a girlfriend and I of course was dating his co-worker. Looking back on it I never really considered him dating material- one, the age difference (although he did not look almost 30 at all!) and two, he just wasn't my "type" (and hell, if you want to get technical, he's still not). Anyways, fast foreword to the end of May where me and the birthday boy had broken up (but remained friends) and I decided to stop into Old Navy one day to say hello, and as it turns out Thomas was there working that day too so we met again. After this second meeting I thought he would be a fun guy to hang out with so I asked my friend (yes, the ex) for his number which in turn he told Thomas and I asked and gave him my number. He called after a few days and we talked on the phone for a week or two before having our first date. We went to a local restaurant and to the movies to see Shrek 2 ( I have a soft spot for Pixar, lol)....and well, I guess the rest is history. We got engaged a month later and married in May of 2005. We are polar opposites but somehow we make it work. I certainly wasn't looking for a husband when I asked for his number, and he had pretty much given up on dating at the time but as it turns out he fell in love instead.
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