on monday i received word that my beloved 99-year-old gramma was being transitioned to hospice care. although we've seen the decline over the past years, i am still in a state of shock. my gramma has always been my favorite person in the whole wide world. she's basically a rock star. nope, not biased.
i spent a lot of time with her in my early years and recall a talk she had with me, "now you know once you start kindergarten, you can't come here as much." i was devastated! school was getting in the way of my gramma time. yes, i was five.
since then we've had many good times together with sweet mum in tow - state fairs, museums, yoga, card playing, naps, garden club, shopping, dining out (where anything she doesn't love is called "interesting"), wineries, beach trips, and more. as i hold tight to see when to head to texas to hold her, i wanted to share this collage of memories.
if you have any experience with a loved one in hospice and words of wisdom, i'm all ears. bisous. x
17 comments:
Kimberly I'm so very sorry to hear this. My dear dad-in-law passed in November and we were with him every day in hospice. It was a most precious time, in so many ways. If you can, go be with her. I'm happy to share more of my experience with hospice, the gifts and lessons of that time, please feel free to e-mail me if you'd like.
Love
Bronwyn
Oh, Kimberly, I am so sorry. May you be blessed with the opportunity to be with her when she transitions. We have held many loved ones as they transitioned, and it is truly a moment of the Biggest Love.
I am very sorry to hear this. My thoughts are with you and your family
Kimberly.... my thoughts are with you and your family.... Alison x
Oh Kim ~ if it's your Gramma's time...I pray that the angels fly down swiftly and quickly to carry her home. Above all - keep giving thanks and praise for such a wonderful woman in your life. Bless you and your family and this sad time.
Kimberly - thanks for sharing this ... I love your Gramma's spirit! Sending love for your journey ...
Use this time to really celebrate her life and call upon the wonderful memories you have created with her. When my granmother left our world I recall my father in the middle of the church service giving my uncle some money and whispering. (My father had the memory in the middle of the service of being a boy and looking up at the ceiling and seeing indentations on it where champagne corks had left marks as reminds of good times) We also had dear friends who owned a flower shop bring hundreds of pink roses for everyone who attended her funeral. When we got to the cememtary my uncle returned with bottles of champagne and we had a toast to her life. It was an incredibly windy day and we took all the rose petals and released them into the wind covering the entire cementry in a blanket of roses. It was such a wonderful wonderful way to celebrate an incredibly difficult day.
Kimberly, I'm so sorry to hear about your grandmother. My own grandmother passed away just two years ago. Interestingly enough, the care was SO great in hospice that she had a little mini recovery and was moved out of hospice into a nursing facility where she eventually passed about two weeks later. The hospice experience was wonderful, the care was tremendous, and the resources for processing the situation were priceless. It's not at all easy, but I hope your grandmother's care will be as good as mine. Sending comfort and love your way!! (PS: If you're interested, here's my post similarly remembering fun stuff about my grandmother at the time: http://www.escapeartistblog.com/saying-goodbye-to-my-biggest-fan/)
Kimberly, I'm sorry to read the news. Continue to remember all of the wonderful moments you shared with her!
Kimberly- You are so fortunate to have such a wonderful grandmother! Thank you for letting us all get to know her in a small way through your blog. Overall, my experience with hospice was incredible. The only difficult part was me coming to terms with where things stood once the decision was made. But it was an incredibly special time with my grandfather. The providers gave as much to us as they did to him. Celebrating a well lived life and expressing love was all the more precious. Blessings to you, your gramma and all your family.
Kimberly, I dropped off @ TS today the book I mentioned to you. Keeping you and your family in my thoughts and prayers. xoxox
Beautiful post!
So sorry about your grandma... I will certainly be saying extra prayers that she is surrounded by a big bubble of love, peace, and comfort.
As a side note: I also describe things I do not love as "interesting" - a trick I learned from my Grandma Verona. :)
I'm sorry to hear the news. FWIW, my father passed when I had just turned 19 after battling lung cancer for 3 yrs. All I can say is to invest as much as you can in the time you have. It's an investment you will never regret.
I was with my MomMom when she died. It was hard to do but I was so happy to have been there. She smiled right before she passed and I wonder who was waiting for her.
Blessings to you all.
Hi Kimberly,
I'm a new reader of your blog and was so sorry to hear about your Gramma. My dad had hospice care nearly two years ago, and I can honestly say, the hospice folks should be sainted. He was never in pain. He was in his own home with his family and friends. Anytime we needed something, we called the hospice and there was someone knocking at the door almost immediately.
If I were so bold as to offer advice, I would say, be with her as much as you can. You're getting a huge gift, though it doesn't feel like it right now. You are able to have time with her, and a lot of times we're not afforded that luxury.
Take care.
Hi Kim ~ Recently a friend's mom passed away. She was in her 90's. A relative came in very close to the end and pulled out a tube of lipstick. She put it on my friend's mom's lips and whispered in her ear that she would need it for when she met up with her husband. She had the window opened to the room so that when the time came, her soul was free to leave. I thought this was quite beautiful and wanted to share. I hope things go well for your wonderful grandma and hope that you will be okay as well.
hugs
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