Sunday August 29, 2010

My Grandmother died today.  The past few months have been terrible for her and for us.  She was in a lot of pain.  She was irritable, mean and didn't always treat our family very nice.  But, she was our Mother/Grandma/Great Great Grandma, so we did what we knew was the right thing to do.  We cared for her and loved her in our own way.  We were able to find five caregivers that honestly loved her.  Within fifteen minutes of her passing this morning, they were all at her house to tell her goodbye.  We were fortunate to have had them come into our lives.  We were able to keep her in her own home which was her most fervent wish.  She begged us to stay in her own home, and with a lot of work by my Mom - she figured it out and she stayed in her house until the absolute end.  He body was old, worn out and in constant pain, she needed out of that body to be a free woman again.  I'm not that much of a religious person, but I have strong beliefs about spirits and souls and my idea of heaven.  I'm not sure she's in the heaven with butterflies and kittens, but I don't think she's in purgatory either.  Somewhere in between where it's not all cotton candy and rainbows, but not brimstone and fire either.  Somewhere where she's pain free with the TV blasting HBO movies where they say the "F" word and have a lot of sex and they serve fried chicken every night.   She was not your typical 84 year old Grandmother......

One of our biggest obstacles was trying to figure out what to do with her dog, Peach.  We love Peach.  She is the sweetest dog and has taken care of my Grandmother for many years.  My Mom has dogs, I have cats, Peach isn't used to any other animals.  She's older.  She's quiet.  It was a problem we knew we would have to face, but didn't know what to do.  The answer was sent to us today.  Within a few minutes of her passing, one of her caregivers almost begged us to let her take Peach.  She has an older farmhouse, she lives alone, her dog died two months ago, she is lonely, she loves Peach.  It's perfect.  We are so pleased.  We love Peach and will miss her - but we plan on seeing her and helping her new Mom take care of her. 

This has been a very long day and there is a lot more to do tomorrow.  And the next and the next.

I wanted to tell you all because you have listened to me in the past.  My Mom asked me if I needed to call anyone to tell them.  I told her all my best friends are in the computer and I've never even met them.  But, I know they will want to know.

Thank you.