My Grandmother

As my grandmother nears the end of her life, memories have flooded in, cascading over the sad reality that she will no longer be with us.

Easily my fondest memory (that is also slightly embarrassing to me at least) was my first visit to Phoenix. I want to say I was twelve or thirteen years old. It was in the fall. My cousin Parker and I thought it would be smart to play football outside on a rock-and-cactus-covered front lawn. Sure enough, after a few minutes of horsing around, I managed to trip and fall backwards onto some sort of cactus. As I stood up from the cactus, everyone laughed/gasped as numerous needles were visibly poking through my jeans.

Parker and his sisters help me waddle inside, and my mom takes me into the bathroom. This is where Grandma comes in. As Mom is helping me pull needles out of my butt, Grandma is nearly hysterical.

“OH MY GOSH!” She exclaimed to everyone in the front room. “Look at his butt!” My grandpa Reed was sitting in his favorite chair, trying not to laugh, as she wanted everyone to look at my needle-infested bum. I don’t know how many people saw my behind, but she went on for quite some time about it. She made it sound like my ass was covered in a forest of needles. In reality, I maybe had ten to fifteen.

“I don’t need to see the boy’s behind, Elizabeth,” Reed laughed. Finally, my mom closed the bathroom door before more hysteria could occur. This was a classic memory I will remember forever.

There was also a dark moment of my life, when I was the most depressed and the most in need of help. I reached out to Grandma, and she gave me money when I was most desperate, and did so without question. This is the Grandma I will remember.

She always wanted to make sure I was fed. She would send me home with food. Was I comfortable? Did I need anything?

I know even as I write this, she wants me going to church and raising a family, but ultimately, she knows I am happy and content, and she can accept that.

Is she perfect? Of course not, but she is my Grandma, and she loves her grandkids with a fiery passion that is seen in how my mother loves her children and grandchildren.

She will be missed. Whatever happens after this life, I she finds peace.