The Hill Man’s Blogspot

Saying Goodbye

On a Monday afternoon in November my Mother told me that my grandmother, Gloria, was not feeling very well and we decided to go her nursing home to bring her favorite dessert, chocolate éclairs. My Grandmother did not feel like eating the éclairs, which was the first sign to me that something was wrong. My family had received a call around lunch time on that Thursday afternoon, letting everyone know that my Grandmother had fallen very ill and probably would not live more than a few days. When I came home from school that day, my Mother told me the bad news and we left to go to my Grandmother’s nursing home.

When we arrived at the front desk, I signed my name in for what I knew would be the last time. We took the elevator up to the fourth floor, just as we had always done, but this time in silence. There was nothing to say anymore. As we walked into the room, I saw my grandmother in her bed, eyes closed, and her family sitting around her. The day that I had dreaded my entire life had finally arrived.

Four of my aunts, four of my uncles, sixteen of my cousins, and my parents and I squeezed into her small bedroom. We knew that even though she was semi-conscious, she knew her surroundings. As hard as it was for the whole family, we wanted to make her last hours as pleasant as possible. My mom, to lighten the mood, started telling silly childhood stories and people began to laugh. Then everyone went around telling fond memories they had with Grammy. My aunt Ginger started singing Grammy’s favorite church hymns, and we all joined in. It was truly amazing; the whole family had come together for the woman we all loved so very much. A few times, my grandmother even gave a little smile, though she could not open her eyes. We all took turns holding her hand and patting her arm. Every hour or so her nurse would come in and yell, “Gloria!”, to make sure she was still holding on, and she would open her piercing blue eyes for a moment and then close them again.

When it became late we knew that we all had to go home, except one of her daughters that would sit with her. Driving home I felt depressed, I did not want to leave, I was afraid that I would never see her again. I was not ready to say goodbye yet, not to her, not to her love, not to her piercing blue eyes. However, the day that I had been dreading my entire life was nothing like what I had expected it to be. I thought that all of my family would be crying hysterically, rather than laughing and telling funny stories. The way my Grandmother passed, truly represented her life. Grammy had always been such a funny and happy person, with hundreds of stories to tell.

 On Saturday, November 11^th, 2006 around three in the morning, Gloria passed away, surrounded by her loving daughters. November 11^th happened to be my Grandpa’s birthday, and everyone said that she was going to be a birthday present to him in heaven. I miss my Grandmother everyday and whenever I hear the song “Gloria” I always tear-up. As hard as that day was, it was definitely the best way to say goodbye.

Filed by Mr. Hillman at March 31st, 2008 under Wait until your father gets home! Tales of family...