A sad day

It's been a rough day. My grandmother passed away this morning. She was a wonderful woman who made me smile so many times. I grew up very close to her having her live so close by, I spent so much time with her. She always had interesting stories to tell me and was full of life. She was a very smart lady and taught school for 36 years. Alzheimer's struck a few years back, and until just recently she knew us all. It must be a terrible thing to lose your mind and still be physically well. My grandmother was 96 years old in December, she lead a good life and accomplished everything she wanted to. I will dearly miss her, but I'm glad she's finally at peace and may now be reunited with my grandfather.

This picture was taken of her with her great-grandchildren back in November 2006 at the nursing home where she resided since the Spring. I can still remember the smile that my girls brought to her face that day we visited. They don't get many children there and they certainly put on a show. At the time I took the picture, my grandmother was trying to convince Natalia, my youngest to grab a cookie for her from the container behind her! Grammie had turned into quite a cookie monster over the past year. I hope heaven provides all the cookies and smiles she can stand.

I'll remember you always, Gram!