In fact it was one of the last conversations I had with her.
It was back in February and my Grandma had just fallen.
The hospice nurse who had been so graciously, honorably, and delicately taking care of my Grandma's tired body knew her time was short.
So my mom encouraged me, and all of the siblings, to spend some last precious moments with the most amazing grandma a grandkid could ever dream up.
I will forever be grateful that I listened to the wise words of my mom and I will always cherish those last moments.
I climbed into her bed to help keep her warm- the same bed that I sat on just a week prior to for the weekly bachelor roundup party where my Grandma told me her oh so sure prediction of who Brad would pick- and we carried on a spacious conversation.
It was clear to me that a piece of Heaven was close to her.
She kept saying there were too many people... there's just too many, she said.
I asked her if she had seen Grandpa yet, and she excitedly, but quietly said not yet, I keep looking. (It seemed like she knew she would see him soon, and that thought makes me so happy. No one ever deserves to be a widow.)
My Grandma then tried to sit up in bed- something she hadn't done in almost 24 hours- to get her krispy kreme.
So I tore off a tiny bite sized piece of her all time favorite treat/ breakfast meal and placed it on her tongue.
She then said ewe, what's that?! Maybe if I knew how to make her a cup of coffee, it would've tasted more normal to her.
It was then, that I knew we were losing her...
So last week she had a birthday.
Her 87th birthday to be exact.
As I drove past the Layton Hills exit I was talking to my dad on the phone and he told me I had to stop and bring some home in hopes of brightening the gloomy day for my mom.
The only reason I ever got off that exit was to get the grandma great her krispy kremes.
Something I tried to do at least once a week the last few months.
I ordered six doughnuts, rather than twelve, to share with Caleb, my dad, and my mom, knowing that the other six could be shared in Heaven.
I pulled up to the window after ordering and waited, and waited, and waited.
Finally after five minutes of sitting there an older gentleman opened the sliding window and asked how he could help me.
I told him I ordered six doughnuts and wanted to pay.
He then closed the window and came back with twelve doughnuts.
He handed me the box and said, these are on me today.
I then got a little teary eyed because it was one of those moments where a- I was already emotional because I had been thinking about the grandma great all day, b- he had no clue why I was even there, c- I get extra emotional when people do something really nice when I'm already emotional- especially when it's someone like an old man- shouldn't i be doing the kind act for him?!, d- that pill does crazy things to me, and e- getting something for free is so sweet when you live off a teacher's salary :) and f- I totally knew my Grandma so played a part in this.
It's just too ironic how it all happened.
The poor guy probably was wondering why he gave such a crazy person twelve free doughnuts.
I told the gentleman that my grandma was his bakery's #1 fan.
I also told him that she had just passed away and today was her birthday.
He simply replied with, bless you and your family.
I love this story.
I love the little things in life that help keep the memory of those who we love and have lost, alive.
I keep thinking about "You never know what you got til it's gone."
Yep, I love my grandma great more and more everyday.
My turn, Love you more!
In memory, we celebrated.
1 comment:
I keep thinking about what Daddy always said, "Half a doughnut shared with someone you love is twice as good as a whole doughnut eaten all alone." Thank you for sharing a doughnut with me. I know Grandma loved it, too.
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