So lately, it seems to take a death to spur me to write a
blog entry. It’s been 6 months since my
last entry, and that’s when Sugar died. I’ve been meaning to update the blog
for all of those 6 months. There is so
much to tell… about Lila and Ben, about great things that have been going on in
the Santiago house, but I haven’t gotten around to doing it. Then…
This weekend was crazy.
We were iced in like I’ve never experienced before. Our street was basically an ice skating
rink. Fortunately, my husband is brave
and helped us venture out a couple of times or I would have gone insane. We had an extra child this weekend. Kaylee stayed with us, which Ben and Lila
loved. And Haley and Will stayed with us
for a couple of nights because their heat was out. So, needless to say, we had a full
house. Sunday morning, Hector was nice
enough to stay home with Will and the kids while Haley, Ellie and I went to Ted
and Deanna’s for a time of worship (church had been canceled due to ice). It was nice to get out of the house and enjoy
a few kid free moments. Not long after
Ted started the conversation, his phone rang.
He stepped out. A few seconds later,
he pulled Craig out. I assumed it was
someone in the congregation needing something.
Then a few seconds later, he pulled me out. And that’s when Ted told me that Granny died.
It was Dad on the phone. Craig didn’t
have his phone with him, so that’s why he called Ted.
It was a very surreal moment. I knew we had already lost Granny a long time
ago, and I knew that we needed to celebrate her promotion to heaven! So, at first, I wasn’t very emotional at
all. It was a good thing. I was thankful the suffering was over for her
and for her boys. But the more I thought
about it, the more it sunk in that she was really gone. And the more that sunk in, the more I began
to realize just what a significant presence she was in my life. It’s like over the past few days a flood of
flashbacks have occurred. I’ll picture
myself sitting at the dining room table with her playing wahoo. Or sitting at the bar while she made me the
breakfast of my choosing. Or watching
All in the Family and eating ice cream with chocolate syrup before we went to bed. Or her defending us to Granddaddy when he was
yelling at us for something. Or her
turning on the heating blanket before we went to bed, so that we would slip
into a warm bed. Or the late night talks
we would have about my role as middle child and the particular challenges I
faced with all Angela and the family had gone through in her teen years. Strangely enough, during that whole time,
Granny was probably the one that I talked most.
She sincerely wanted to hear from me and I remember being anxious for
bedtime so we could have one of our talks.
In the midst of all of those flashbacks, I also realize how
much I underappreciated the extended family dynamic she created for me. Tiffany put a post up on facebook a couple of
days ago of all the cousins together around Granny. And it really hit me that she created the
connections we had as cousins. She
fostered those relationships. She made
sure the brothers came together. She
passed on a legacy of family fun. I have
such sweet memories with my cousins at Granny’s house. And I have her to thank for those memories.
In her last several years, I probably saw her more than most
of the cousins just because of proximity.
Her retirement home was right down the street from me. I didn’t see her as much as I should have,
but I’m thankful that my kids got to spend a little time with her and that I
have pictures to pass onto them when they can no longer remember their time
with Granny.
The different faces she made, the funny saying she had like "Great honk, Good night nurse, and Good hobble hooble, and
the priceless songs that she taught us will stay emblazed in my memory. ... or
at least I pray that they do.
Granny taught me you’re never too old to play games, that
family is precious and should be actively pursued, and that songs are one of
the sweetest gifts you can give your kids.
She always told us and showed us how much she loved us and just how
special we were, and we totally believed her!
I am so incredibly blessed to call her my Granny, and I plan to carry on
the legacy of Bum Bum Bumble Bee and Here we go Singing in the Kitchen,, along
with Donut Shop, Little Blue Man, and 3 Little Mice (voice and all)! My kids will know what it means to love somebody more than the whole wide world and China! And I'll make sure they know I'll love them more than they love me, just like she always did to me!
Countless precious memories. It hurts to remember, but I don’t ever want
to forget!
Post soon to come about good stuff, I promise!
No comments:
Post a Comment