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Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Memommie

I had barely gotten my suitcase unpacked from my business trip to Alabama last week when I got the call from my mom that we had been expecting for years. My grandmother, Memommie, had passed away. Memommie had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for more than 20 years. She had been having a hard time the last couple of weeks and the time had finally come for her to go home. After processing the information, I started making the necessary preparations to head back home. Clay, my brother, and I boarded a plane back to Mobile Sunday afternoon. The next three days were a blur of visiting my aunt who was my grandmother's caretaker, attending the wake and funeral, and a constant stream of friends and neighbors calling and bringing by food. When my plane finally touched down in Austin this afternoon, I was completely exhausted. I never expected Memommie's death would be so hard. I felt like I had processed losing her years ago after watching her mind and body deteriorate . However, it felt like I was losing her all over again. I will say that the funeral was a fitting tribute to her life including both laughter and tears as my uncle gave a beautiful eulogy to the life of his mother. I was reminded once again how lucky I was to have both Memommie and Nanny in my life. My two grandmothers were both wonderful examples of strength and facing life through adversity. I was truly blessed to have them in my life.

2 comments:

tdillow said...

Hey Julie,

I'm sooo sorry to hear about your loss. Please let us know if there is anything that we can do.

Anonymous said...

I'm just reading this...I'm so sorry for your loss. My Grandmother passed 6 years ago while hubby was deployed. It was soooo hard. We had known also though that it would be coming. She'd forgotten who I was, but remembered who my hubby and oldest son was...interesting. I knew the last time I saw her that it would be my last and I cried half of the way home. Mourning her loss, before she was even truly lost, didn't make it any easier when it finally came. I can totally empathize with you. Write if you need anything. {{{hugs}}} and Blessings...