Memories

I got some news tonight that has me feeling nostalgic... My Grandmother (I called her Nana) is not doing well and may pass away very soon. I've felt conflicted about her the past few years.. She has Alzheimer's and hasn't known me in years. I don't like visiting her too much since I prefer to remember her the way that she was and not as the way she has been for the past almost 12 years. She shares her date of birth with my oldest niece and I've always thought that was a really cool thing for my niece to share with her great grandma. I remember when Sammie turned 2 and Nana turned 90 that we took Sammie to go and visit with Nana and how upset Sammie was that we were leaving the balloons that we had brought for Nana.

I also remember

• the brownie incident that happened at our house when Nana attempted to make her delicious brownies and wound up burning them so badly that we couldn't eat them.
• how when she would be staying at our house in the summer that she got to sleep in my bed and I would sleep on a cot next to my bed.
• the card games that she taught me to play and how sometime a game of Go Fish would turn into us picking up cards till one of us got what we needed.
• visiting her in Florida and seeing the care that she took with her skincare regimen and that she would sing as she put her various creams on her face.

I hope and believe that when she does eventually pass (whether it's this week or some time further down the line) that she will be greeted with open arms by Papa (my grandfather) , my Dad and my Uncle Alan who passed before her along with her brothers and sisters that are up there too.