I have to admit it has been a bit of a crazy month again. Let me start at the beginning. My wonderful Grandmother from Oregon had come out to Utah to visit family in June. Grandma Caldwell is in the picture above standing next to me. It began as a normal vacation visiting with her daughter and grandkids... but she started having trouble breathing- so they went to the emergency room. Trouble breathing turned into fluid in her lungs and a ten-day hospital stay. At one point, everyone thought she wouldn't make it, and at the next point she was up in bed with rosie cheeks, laughing and talking with all of her visitors- so of course we thought she would just take a few days to recover and she would pull through!
After running a few tests we all found out what was really going on. Grandma is said to have had ovarian cancer and kidney and renal failure and was given about two weeks to live. Seriously, how can someone ever be prepared for information like that? It came as a huge shock to everyone in the family. Next came the hard decision of what to do now, where to take her, and who could care for her. My parents wanted to be able to care for her and love her and give her everything she could possibly need in the last days of her life. She was brought to their house the morning of the 4th of July and from that moment on, we were together as much as possible as a family.
It was beautiful to see family-aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts and great uncles gather around as well as friends and church leaders to share their love for my grandma and say their goodbyes. We had a few great days with Grandma sitting up in bed and talking with each of us, and then she started slipping away. She passed peacefully early evening of July 9th and was reunited with her Husband, Clifford, and her parents and siblings who had already passed.
It was an emotional experience, and especially hard to watch my dad deal with the loss of his mother and to watch my mom give my dad as much love and support as possible. My parents love and care for Grandma was beautiful and inspiring. And I loved watching our family gather together.
I can remember spending most of my Thanksgivings and Christmas Eve's over at Grandma's house growing up. We often had sleepovers at her house where she taught us to love watching old musicals and play Hungry Hungry Hippo, Uno, Phase 10 and Go Fish. We would always walk up to the gas station on the corner and get treats. I will always remember where she had a secret stash of Double Mint gum in the drawer next to the oven and every time we had a chance, Chase and I would sneak a piece (or two, three or four)! I will remember her making us tuna sandwiches for lunch and sourdough pancakes for breakfast, and of course will always remember her jam! I will always remember her phone calls during college giving me advice and encouraging me to keep working hard and keep looking for someone special. She told Spencer and I to love each other and enjoy our time together and talked about how she had been with Grandpa for 43 years and without him for 22. She said the 22 years had seemed a whole lot longer than the 43 years. She was ready to see Grandpa again, and I am glad she is. Although, I will miss her- she is not lonely anymore and in a much better place.
Her funeral was beautiful and I got to sing with Chelsea and two of my cousins- I Know that My Redeemer Lives. And all of Grandmas grandkids sang Families can be together forever. There were so many people there who loved her and cared for her it was inspiring to see. Thank you to everyone who took care of her, and who took care of all of us while we were in town!
Grandma- I love you!
