sekaamodel: Grandma Rose 9/2/1929 - 12/23/2017 The woman who started my big all-Italian family… and
sekaamodel: Grandma Rose 9/2/1929 - 12/23/2017 The woman who started my big all-Italian family… and who gave me my middle name. What a woman she was - and my did she do a hell of a job raising 5 boys and a husband. She somehow managed to cook and care for everyone, all while maintaining a spotless home and bountiful rose garden. Until recently, she kept all of this up throughout her husband’s last days, her kids’ adulthood, and for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren too. She was such a perfect grandmother. Her door was ALWAYS open to us, without hesitation. Whenever anyone came over, within seconds of opening the door, you can rest assured she would almost immediately ask, “Can I get you anything? Are you hungry?” She lived to care for her family. And she loved just chit chatting with loved ones, hearing about other people’s lives while she coped with the gripes of aging in the meanwhile. A few days ago on my birthday, her body started shutting down. She could hardly breathe, eyes sealed shut. I never thought I would see my grandmother this way – the strong, resilient, selfless person I had always known was fading away before my eyes. Without food or water for days, fluids filling her lungs, she still kept holding on… until yesterday at 10:30am, one eye barely cracked open staring my way, she took her last breath. She passed on from this existence surrounded by the family to whom she gave so much of herself, and in the home that embodies so much of her (from the foil wallpaper and antique furniture to generations of family photos). I’m relieved that she is not suffering anymore, but I miss her tremendously. This year will be our first year we have a Christmas without my grandmother and grandfather. Their house will never feel the same. For those of you who still have grandparents, I hope you never take for granted the moments you are still able to share with them. With any loved one, really. There is potential for such special bonds in this lifetime if you are willing. Best of wishes to everyone over the holidays. I want to whole-heartedly thank you all for the warmth, compassion, and empathy shared with me since releasing these vulnerable words. Composing this text was really a therapy for me - a way to somehow process all that had just occurred. Tumblr felt like the safest community to first share… especially after connecting with several of you via my recent experiments with writing. Thank you for listening with a kind ear, sincerely… I really appreciate every person who responded too.I cannot say enough about how unexpectedly nourishing it has been to connect with this little community we have created here…Thank you all -- source link