Posted in Archive

Heart broken

Today’s a day when my heart broke. My grandma died at 4:10am of a massive heart attack. No pain, quite sudden, exactly as she wanted. She was a beautiful, smart, strong, happy, healthy woman, who didn’t want to put her family through the pain and suffering of watching a loved one fail. She was loved by all of us, and she knew it. And we all know how much she loved us too.  She was the type of woman who, if I have half her strength at 70 that she had at almost 90, I will be doing pretty well for myself. If I am half as with it at 70 as she was right to the moment that she passed, I will be lucky indeed. If I can leave behind a family as rich and diverse, as healthy and happy as hers: 4 children + spouses (all of them, still together!), 11 grandchildren + spouses, 15 great-grandchildren (she’s the only one who could ever keep track of the numbers, maybe it’s 14??…), I will have lived a blessed and rich life.
She was the type of woman who told it like it is, but everything was always seen through rose coloured glasses — with a pragmatic edge that made us all love her even more. She was our biggest cheerleader: to hear her speak she has the smartest, most beautiful, successful, loving family on the planet.  She was the type of woman, who last night, complaining of an aching and stiff neck, went to the hospital. She spent a mere 3 hours in the hospital until she passed away due to the heart attack. But 3 hours was all it took for her to fall in love with the staff that was caring for her and for her to impact the staff enough that they too were all were in tears when she passed.
Grandma, I can’t believe you’re gone. I love you and miss you. My heart aches.

My grandma: October 24, 1919 — March 28, 2009, ~4:10am.

Christina

6 thoughts on “Heart broken”

  1. Sandra Conrad

    What a beautifully written tribute. What a wonderful person to have in a family. I can feel how much she is loved and how much she will be missed . . . but also deep caring for her in recognizing that she left this life on her terms. We can all only strive to emulate her example, and would she scoff at this idea?
    A tearful hug and love. (OiaM’s Mom)

  2. oasis1223

    Thanks. That means a lot.

  3. Goodbye… « The Chronicles of Christina… on this Journey called Life…

    […] 9, 2009 by oasis1223 Today was my grandma’s memorial, celebration of life, service.  It was beautiful. First, the pastor spoke, followed by my uncle, who gave the Eulogy, two of my […]

  4. Rose Coloured Glasses « The Chronicles of Christina… on this Journey called Life…

    […] April 18, 2009 by oasis1223 Today I found them. The Rose Coloured Glasses. When I wrote my post about my grandma, the day she died, I commented: She was the type of woman who told it like it is, but everything was always seen through rose colour… […]

  5. Intensity « The Chronicles of Christina… on this Journey called Life…

    […] 10 other people (mostly women) and I think we all were in tears.   It brought back the grief of my grandma passing away — which is natural as it’s only been 6 months (though it feels like an instant) and in […]

  6. Birthday Reflections… « The Chronicles of Christina… on this Journey called Life…

    […] year my grandma passed away, I dealt with the loss of someone I thought was a friend. It was a year partly of grief. It also […]

Comments are closed.