I have been so blessed to have been able to say goodbye to several loved ones before they died. I can't think of any of them without thinking of those last moments I spent with them. I marvel at how, so near death, each of them were stripped down to the core of who they were.
Ruby Slippers
I was 17 when my Great-Grandma Inga died. She is my hero in many ways. She deserves not just her own post, but an entire book based on the strength, love, and resilience that came from her. She had been healthy all her life - right up to her 94th birthday. Then, some medical complications moved her into a nursing home.
It was just a month or so before my high school graduation and I was preparing for my senior prom. My mom had bought me an amazing dress that was head-to-toe red sequins. We had looked all over to find shoes to match that dress. That weekend we were visiting Grandma and stopped at the bridal shop in Red Wing to look - no luck.
I remember sitting in Grandma Inga's room. I was there with my mom (Grandma Inga's granddaughter) and Grandma Joyce (Grandma Inga's daughter). Grandma Inga was confused. At one point she asked whose room we were in. "Mom, we're in your room," Grandma Joyce tried to explain. Several times Grandma Inga drifted off into a light sleep. I was quiet, saddened by seeing my beautiful great-grandma like that.
Then, from out of nowhere, Grandma Inga looked right at me. "Have you found shoes yet?" she asked. Even then I was dumbfounded and it brings tears to my eyes remembering it now. In a moment of clarity she knew exactly who I was. She knew I was Emilie, Barb's daughter and Joyce's granddaughter, and that right then in my life the most important thing in the world was my senior prom. She had five children, 15 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild at that time (forgive me if my math is incorrect). But she knew me, and she knew I needed red sequined shoes.
Grandma Inga died soon after that. She never saw the pictures of my prom. Believe it or not, we found red sequined shoes and my mom still has them in storage. Sometimes I like to imagine putting them on and clicking the heels together three times. Grandma Inga would have got a kick out of that.
1 comment:
That was beautiful Em.
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