Joy and Sorrow

A White Rose for Remembrance

It has been a strange 24 hours for me. I chose the title above because my aunt said those exact words as we talked on the phone late last night!

It was after my workout and I had stopped at work to get my schedule. My phone had rang. I missed the first call and managed to get the second. It was from my father. He was calling with sad news.

He told me that my Gam had passed away. It appears to have been quick and I was glad she was not in any pain. She had been in rehab for the past three months and was finally back at home.

I was pretty much in shock for the rest of the evening. I called my DH to tell him and then hung up because I was going to call my Mom. Before I had the chance, I had a call from my brother. He was already at my Mom's telling her the news. I was glad he was there. I spent the rest of the night on the phone. I talked to my favorite uncle, a friend, my Mom, my Dad, and then my aunt.

I discover through all the conversations that my cousin had her baby yesterday around the same time that my Gam passed away. Isn't it strange the way the world works? Hence, the emotions of "Joy and Sorrow."

I am suppose to be good with words, but today I feel as if I am rambling. I am filled with a variety of emotions. I was thinking about the time I lived with my Gam when I had my first teaching job. It was wonderful spending time with her. It was also hard for me being so far from home and yet, it was so hard for me to leave her when I did eventually move back home.

She was in my life for a lot of events that shaped who I am today. She took me to church every week when I was a child, she listened to me on Friday nights when I was student teaching and frustrated with not dating. I was so sad when she moved away and then so happy when I lived with her for two years and also went to visit her. I will miss her terribly. I will miss calling her every year on her birthday and singing to her when she answered the phone. I am 36 and that is a long time to have a grandma in your life!

My Gam was a strong, hard working woman, a fabulous cook, dog-loving, prom dress making, Bills fanatic, fun loving, QVC addict. She was very stubborn, old-fashioned, strict, and "old school" in her beliefs.

God Bless You, Gam! I now have another angel watching out for me in heaven.