Goodbye to My Grandma

My Grandma died at about 12:30 this morning.  I am so very, very sad.

My Grandma hadn't been doing so well in the last several months.  Hospice had been called in about 2 weeks ago but we were originally told that it was for palliative care and her death was not imminent.  Within a matter of a couple of days, Hospice changed their minds and said that it could be anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks before she passed away.
 
Thankfully, we were already planning a trip down to Georgia.  We shuffled our schedules and left 2 days ahead of our original plan and drove south.  I had the opportunity to visit with her for 3 days in a row.  I was able to tell her that she was the best Grandma a girl could have hoped for and how much I loved her.  I was able to tell her that being able to see her made my whole trip worthwhile.  I was able to let her see Carder one more time.  I was able to say goodbye.

Grandma made the best roast, the fluffiest mashed potatoes, a perfect fried egg, delicious fried okra, and a pretty mean pumpkin pie.  You could never visit her house before 2 pm and not get fed breakfast.  She was kind of a messy cook, though and I won't ever forget the time she fried the cord to her mixer while trying to make okra and mashed potatoes at the same time one Thanksgiving.

I can remember Christmases where somehow she always knew the perfect thing to buy for me (like a Caboodle or a Pink Ice Ring or a warm scarf and socks right before we moved to Michigan).  She always said my name with laughter in her voice and a smile in her eyes.  She loved flowers, her dogs, beanie babies, and collector dolls.  She had the most radiant skin and didn't look even close to her age.  When my Papaw passed away, she made sure that everyone got a little something special to remember him by.  She wore pants that picked up "everything but money and a man".  She was a very special woman and I will never forget her.

I hope that I let my son know how wonderful his Great Grandma Gin-Gin was and that he grows up thinking as kindly of her as I do, even though he only knew her a short time.  I will always remember that when Carder saw her in her last days, he joyfully said "Hi Gin Gin" and blew her kisses.  She was so happy when she heard his voice in the hallway and she ever so slowly raised her hand to blow him kisses back.  He didn't cry even though she looked nothing like the woman he knew.  

Grandma - you may be gone but you will never be forgotten.  I love you.