Arizona | Olympus High School Class of 2000 Alumni Website

The Perfect Goodbye

April 18th, 2010 Classmate Blogs No comments

The past 10 days have been a blur! Last Thursday I was in pinewood derby mode when I got a phone call from my dad at about 4:00 pm. My dad told me Grandma was finally on her way to heaven and she might not make it through the night. Without hesitation, I booked a one-way ticket to Arizona so I could hopefully say goodbye to my grandma before she left this life. By 5:30 I was in a taxi on my way to the airport (with a haphazardly packed suitcase). I prayed and prayed that I would make it to Arizona in time to say goodbye to my sweet Grandma. Lucky for me and my family, Grandma held on for 5 days. This wasn’t really a surprise since Grandma was one of the strongest and most stubborn people I’ve ever known.

I never imagined saying goodbye to my Grandma would be a beautiful event, but it was. She was surrounded by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We sat around her bedside and told stories. We took turns holding her hand. We all got to tell her we love her (like a million times). We also had a very special moment with her on Saturday when she woke for a few hours. While she was awake, we all got to tell her we love her and we were thankful for all the ways she took care of us. We also told her it was ok for her to rest and we would be ok. It was a perfect goodbye.

I’m glad I took my camera to Arizona to capture a few moments from Grandma’s goodbye party. In case you can’t tell from the pictures, the mood was calm, happy, and sometimes silly (just like Grandma). I flew back to Chicago on Monday night, just a few hours before my Grandma finally went to heaven. Thanks to my super helpful and generous husband, I flew to Arizona again for her funeral. Poor Marshal wasn’t able to leave work on such short notice, but he held down the fort while I was gone.

Here are some pictures from Grandma’s goodbye party:

This is my dad and Grandma at the nursing home.

My dad was Grandma’s baby.

Me and Dad

This is my cute Aunt Judy. She and Uncle Bill took care of Grandma after she moved to Arizona about 10 years ago.

Here is my awesome cousin Tammy. She and my other cousin, Abby, also took care of Grandma. They made sure someone visited Grandma at the nursing home every day.

The boy cousins are so much fun.

This is my handsome Uncle Bill (my dad’s brother, Judy’s husband, and Abby and Tammy’s dad).

My sweet mom came out too because she and Grandma were always close.

I am so glad my mom was there! She has a the most calming voice. I don’t even know how to explain it. I can’t imagine hearing a sweeter voice before going to heaven. My mom is pretty special.