Despite my efforts to sleep, I have a million thoughts running through my head. My Mom called today to tell me that my Granny is going to be placed in a nursing home. For the past few years she has lived with my Aunt and her family, but since her Alzheimer's disease has progressively gotten worse, it is necessary that she be placed in a more controlled environment. Mom and I think that she may like this better since she will be surrounded by more people her age, many of whom are going through the same things she is going through. Even still, it is difficult seeing someone you have looked up to your whole life go through something so life changing as Alzheimer's.
My grandmother has always been one of the most important people in my life. When I was little she always took me to church. My three cousins and I would accompany her to church every Sunday. We would sit on the pew and play Wheel of Fortune or Hangman until "big church" ended. She always had an endless supply of double-mint gum, and an unwavering patience for our loud "whispers." At the time we were too young to understand the sermons being preached, but looking forward to spending Sunday with her at church and growing up watching her faithfulness, made me long for a relationship with God - one like my Granny had with Him. I am saved by the grace of God, but Granny was His earthly way of showing me that there is more to life, and to truly experience love and grace, I needed Him.
Granny made sure each of her grandchildren felt special and loved by her. There were 5 of us which meant that we each got one night a week to spend the night with her - all by ourselves - and every other weekend we rotated between families. My night was Tuesday. I LOVED Tuesdays. Despite Granny's southern roots, she was not a cook. However, her "cooking" was my favorite. She introduced me to grape sandwiches, rice-a-roni spanish rice, tomato sandwiches, grilled cheeses, and fried cornbread. Dessert was usually milkshakes or blue-bell ice cream. She also made the sweetest tea imaginable - so sweet that if you left it out long enough sugar would settle in the bottom. Granny and I shared a special bond over television - All My Children to be exact. She would record it on VHS and then give them to me to watch. She thought most of what was on "modern" TV was trashy (Rosanne) so we watched Nick-at-Nite, which then consisted of I Love Lucy and Bewitched.
Granny lives out Galatians 5:22-23; "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." I can only remember once that she ever got mad at me- she was rarely easily angered and always patient. She was always content, joyful, peaceful and kind. When I was 8 I backed into her car with my Mom's truck. I was so upset I tried to run away from home. Granny told me that it wasn't a big deal, that it was only a car. Even though she couldn't open her back left door, she never fixed it and might as well have forgotten it happened.
Growing up means that things change; People change. While it saddens me that her brain doesn't remember all of the wonderful memories that I do, I know that my Granny is still there. She is still a role model to me, and some of my favorite childhood memories are with her. Her smile and witty remarks when I see her now still make me feel just as loved as her grilled cheese and milk-shake did when I was 13.
