busy girl i've been! here's ONE of the reasons why...

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celebrate.

tonight was a night for celebration.

after an 8-day vacation in beautiful florida (which i will blog about later), i am back home,

employed, and happy to be right here.

so adam & i made a special chicken marsala dinner for the first time. it was delicious...and will definitely be prepared again.

complete with mickey mouse ice-cubes (compliments of mom & dad).

and chocolate-covered raisins & sprinkled thin chocolates for dessert.

and we will continue to celebrate this night by snuggling on the couch and watching law & order: svu, because tonight, we are on the brink of a new chapter of life. his might include more homework, and mine might include more money. but we are happy. happy for right now.

a day in the life:

I didn’t think we’d ever get here. And by here, I mean: nights at Grandma’s house without tears. I know we’d eventually get here because we serve a God who is gracious and strong, but we’ve reached such a strong state after only a month. A MONTH. And I know that seems like a long time, but really, if you were to see what happened that first week, you would not think a month so long.

And Grandma faithfully gives all credit to God. The prayers of hundreds have literally lifted the Great Sadness off her shoulders and given her strength to live this much-changed life.

So, this is a day. And if you readers get through it, congrats. I just had to write this for myself so I’ll never forget how precious our days and nights were together this past month. It’s usually the same routine, and that’s why I can write it down, but it’s never the same day. We are blessed with conversations that hold great scope and a world that changes around us.

~

In the morning around 9 or 10AM, Gram gets up and makes tea and two pieces of toast. She’ll scoot around in her nightgown on the black & white speckled floor with tea in hand. From her seat at the table, she gets to look out two big windows in the kitchen. This is where she gets to do her praying every day…she’ll pray for everyone she knows. And when she told me “everyone,” I did not doubt her. Gram is not a woman who forgets. Usually her rustling around wakes my sleeping self up from the couch, and I’ll wait there waiting for her to finish her routine and notice I’m awake.

“You need to get in the bathroom before I go in there?”

“No, Gram; I’ll wait ‘til you’re done.”

And usually she’ll come out with white or blue pants, and a light blouse. And her brown, gray hair is clipped up, with tiny wet curls peeking out. She’ll slip on her newly purchased crocs (from a bargain garage sale, no less) or just take her bare-feet that have walked so many miles out onto the hard concrete that lies as a sidewalk around her country home. She’ll walk alongside her flowers allowing the dewy grass to soak the hem of her pants. She’ll pick off the dead flowers and pull a few weeds here or there. Outside is her paradise; her place to breathe at the start of the new day.

Around lunch-time, Gram will ask multiple times if I ate enough, if I’d like more chips, if I want her to whip up something extra. Most of the time I say “no,” because, honestly, how much more food can I eat? But sometimes, I say “yes” because I know she feels wanted when she gets to prepare something I enjoy. And we’ll sit at the kitchen table and eat our lunches, sharing stories about love and life. I learn so much from my Grandma every time I talk to her. She’s funny and genuine and realistic. She’s not afraid to laugh and make jokes; on the other hand, she’s not afraid to talk about grief and cry. Grandma has lived. Fully lived. A life full of adventure, sorrow, love, surprises, smiles, hurt, and faith.

We’ll move to the couch with our tea-cups full of English Breakfast tea…and maybe a pastry to share. She’s read my stars from today’s paper while I flip through a book I brought home from the library. After looking at the newspaper, Gram usually receives a phone-call from her friend; while she chats and laughs away (you’ll know she’s really laughing when she bends over in her chair and lightly slaps her knee), I will sleep or go pet the stray cats from outside. We both “do our own thing” because we are content just in each other’s company.

Fast forward through dinner (where we usually re-heat leftovers or drive up to Chief’s to get a chicken-finger basket…or lately, enjoy really great food cooked by my Mom & Dad) and we’ll sit with our cup of tea at the table again with some trifle or toast & jam around 11PM. We’ll share more stories or read some poetry. Sometimes we’ll take our tea into the living room and Grandma will sit with the TV on, and I’ll be reading or playing on the computer. Gram will laugh at something I said or something that was said on TV, and then I can’t help but laugh too.

She’s a night-owl, that Grandma, so around midnight she’ll put on her nightgown. After she gives me my pillow and sheet to put on the couch, she’ll wrap her small arms around my shoulders and give me a kiss. I’ll hold her small body that’s held me since I was a baby. And while I stand in her front room surrounded by plants, antique lamps, and cards galore, looking at the woman who means so much to me, I say,

“I love you, Grandma.”

“I love you too. Goodnight, God bless.”

And I do. I love her. I love her very much.