Grandma Hazel sat by the fireplace, staring into the golden flames. “I should just toss them into the fire,” she quipped.
“No grandma,” I said. “That would be foolish.”
Grandma’s eyes narrowed with a tear. “You’re right, I’m just going to miss her that’s all.”
I was visiting Grandma when she heard that a dear friend of her’s passed away. A real pearl necklace was delivered via the nursing home by one of the nurses. It was a cherished piece of jewelry her long time friend wanted her to have.
Grandma got to her feet. “I think I’ll go to bed.”
As she walked away slowly towards her bedroom, gently grasping the necklace, I wondered if she was thinking about her own mortality. If I were eighty five years old, like grandma, I know I would be.
Before I closed grandma’s bedroom door, I just stood there for a moment watching her sleep. There are so many good memories here, I thought to myself. One of them was how Grandma Hazel taught me the skill of making beautiful quilts. That old puffy plaid chair is still in the far corner of her bedroom, where she used to sit me on her lap and point out all of the intricate designs she had sewn on one of her award winning quilts. I was fascinated by her sewing talents she lovingly let me inherit. Now, I realize, grandma too will pass away one day, and I will miss her dearly.
I guess that’s a subject none of us really want to talk or think about. We all go on with our daily lives as if we are all invincible…..untouchable. But we will all turn old one day and face our own mortality.
Older people seem to except that inevitability with poise and grace. The paid-my dues wisdom owns them in a wonderful way. We can all learn from them, as we move forward on this journey called life.
I think from now on, I will appreciate grandma a little more……love her a little more. And when she’s gone, I won’t remember her as one of the old folks I used to know, but only as my Grandma Hazel, who I adored and loved.