In my last post, I told you that Grandma died recently. This afternoon we will have the memorial service. I have struggled the last few weeks with the grieving process. I feel sad, but I also remember all the things Grandma did and said that caused us a lot of pain and disappointment (in her younger years). She had dimentia in her old age and I used to say it was nice to visit her now, because she has forgotten that she doesn't like me. She had lost many of her memories. She didn't know any stories anymore and she didn't remember her family or her friends. I would not wish this on anyone! God has been merciful in taking her to heaven and stopping the suffering now. I realise I need to forgive the past, because it's all over and shouldn't have an impact on me anymore. In fact in the last 10 years, most of my interactions with Grandma were positive. She had softened in her old age so why do I remember the stupid things that are so far in the past, instead of the important stuff? Anyway, here are some memories of Grandma. There were some good ones.
Grandma made us bread and butter pudding one time we visited. I really enjoyed it and told her so. From then on, if she knew I was coming to visit, she made me a bread and butter pudding to take home. It tasted different every time. I once asked her for the recipe. She said, “there isn’t a recipe, it’s just a bit of this and a bit of that.”
She told me
a story about a single mother with four kids.
The lady once asked Grandma, “what do you do when you have four kids to
feed and only three eggs?” Grandma explained to me that to this lady, this was
an impossible situation. We talked about all the things you could do to stretch
three eggs to feed five people – scramble them, make an omelet, make egg
sandwiches. She taught me that a little creativity can go a long way.
“If you’re going to travel across the country with someone in a caravan it helps if you’re good friends.”
Finally, a funny story...
The last time I talked to her, I said, “Your kids and grandkids are really smart. I reckon they get that from you.” She replied, “I think they took it from me.” We laughed. Grandma knew her mind used to be better. It was hard to see her losing her memories.
That's that then.
