We'll miss you, Grandma

My grandma didn't quite make it to her 103rd birthday, but she was pretty dang close. Holding off until just past midnight, she passed away on the anniversary of her own father's passing.

The visitation and funeral were beautiful tributes to her memory, and it was so nice to see all the family again. One of my favorite parts was when everyone had the opportunity to stand up and share a memory. At the very end, Sam stood up in front of everyone and with a loud voice said, "I know why Grandma wants to go to heaven.  She wants to be with Grandpa Lawrence!" I think she would have been proud to see her faith passed down to this 4-year old descendent of hers who embraces the hope that this good-bye is not forever, and that we will all be reunited again someday.

At one point, I was reminded of a story Grandma once told me of my great-aunt's visitation.  I was young enough at the visitation that I barely remember it. Several years afterwards, my grandma told me how much she had enjoyed watching me walk right up to my great-aunt and, full of interest and curiosity, peer in to get a closer look. Laughing at the memory, she said how her sister "would have just loved that!"

So I smiled when I saw my own children (and my nephew) go up to their great-grandma several times to pay their respects and say their last goodbyes, knowing how happy she would be to have these little great-grandchildren there.

I will miss bringing the kids to visit her; she would always ask, "Do they talk a lot?"
And I was always able to answer very honestly, "Yes. They never stop."
"Good," she would say, apparently happy to know that her genes were being passed along.
The only Irish blood my kids have comes from her, but apparently that has been enough to completely fill our home with the "Gift of Gab." Once, upon hearing the story of how Grandma's father used to offer to pay her if she could stop talking for 10 minutes, Elena decided she wanted to try. After 4 successive failures at this attempt, she said, "Let's just try again tomorrow."

Here's Grandma with 3 of her (nearly) 7 great-grandchildren. (And this is a woman who, after having to hold off on marriage until she was 38 due to an interruption from WWII, thought she would never even live to see the day she had a grandchild.)