Thankful Thursday

Today, and always, I am thankful for my grandma. I wish I could tell her in person how thankful I am for her, but she has been unconscious for a week now. I wish I had said all these things to her before, but since I can’t go back in time, I’ll say it here.

Gramma, thank you for rocking me for hours on end when I was a baby. Thank you for letting me crawl into your bed when I was a little kid and had a nightmare in the middle of the night. Thank you for always being the person I could run to when things got rough at home when I was a teenager. Thank you for always being on my side and standing up for me. Thank you for all your delicious food, your songs, your stories, and your wisdom. You have always been a hero to me, because you never ever give up. Whatever the obstacle, no matter how impossible everyone says it is, you overcome it with pure determination. Although you’ve always been physically tiny, you have the largest personality I have ever known, so you’ve always been the biggest, strongest presence in my life. I love you so much. I am so grateful I’ve been able to visit you so much this past couple weeks. I’m grateful I was able to bring the kids to see you, and it made you so happy to see them. I’m thankful I could bring you the simple happiness of strawberry ice cream, and that you were able to eat it and seemed to enjoy it so much. I’m thankful that you are not in the hospital anymore, but in a beautiful, homey place with caring staff. I’m so glad that you always have at least 1 family member there with you. I believe you are sleeping peacefully right now; I really hope you are. And I hope you can feel that my thoughts are always with you, and that I’m praying for you all the time. I love you, Gramma.