A Tribute

Today marks the 5th anniversary of my Grandma’s death. A couple days after she passed, I wrote this tribute to her. I wanted to honor her with it today by sharing it with you. Enjoy.

“I can’t remember a time in my life when my grandma wasn’t there.

This past Monday, in the nursing facility, I was able to spend a good portion of time with her alone, in the last few hours of her life. I sat there, stroking her head, with her thin body under the blankets and an oxygen tube in her nose; and I remembered an instance in my life when my grandma had been sitting up with me.

My grandparents had babysat my siblings and I, as they often did, when my parents were out for the evening. Bedtime had come and I didn’t want to be alone in the dark, so I asked my grandma to sit with me. I remember her sitting on the cedar chest in my room looking out the window, the moonlight shining in. It was comforting to have my grandma there. I wasn’t alone.

Now here I was, sitting up with her. I told her I loved her. I told her I was getting married in May and that I hoped my marriage would last as long as hers did (Almost 70 years). I told her I was glad she was my grandma. Really, out of all the people in the world, I was privileged to have this woman as my grandma. What a precious gift.

Grandma passed a few hours after I left the nursing facility. Now only memories are left. And there are a lot. I’ve been remembering how absolutely generous and giving she was (Lots of presents at Christmas!). Her and my grandpa taught me how to play Hearts, they’d take us to the zoo, or science center, or the park, they’d feed us macaroni and cheese with hot dogs (Special request by my brother and I); of course we always had to wash our hands before eating and eat everything on our plate or else we wouldn’t get dessert (And there was always dessert). My grandma had a huge love of reading and, thankfully, I inherited that from her. She was a good cook, loved to take walks, loved her chocolate, loved her family and was constantly giving herself to them in so many little ways. With seven children and a multitude of grandchildren, great-grandchildren and even great-great grandchildren, she had opportunities galore to give and give she did.

One of my favorite memories of her in more recent years came when I was reading a devotional book to her over breakfast one morning. The devotional was about the faith of Abraham. ‘…And Abram being 99 years old…’ I stopped reading and looked at her, suddenly realizing my grandma wasn’t far behing Abraham. ‘Grandma! That’s only five years older than you!’ Her reply was an instant ‘Oh, shush!’, but we were both laughing.

In 1918 my grandma was born and grew up as an only child in a single parent household. In 2016 my grandma passed as the matriarch of the Megahan clan. There is so much more I could say. I have 36 years worth of memories of my grandma and that, in and of itself is special. I am truly thankful to the Lord for giving me such a special person as my grandma.”

After I left the nursing facility that night after being with grandma, my fiance took me over to the Galleria mall to get some dinner at the food court there. We got burritos at Qdoba…I was an emotional mess already…but sitting there, in the food court at the Galleria, where my grandparents had taken my siblings and I so many times, was too much. The feeling from all the memories over the years came flooding over me, and I sat at the table, crying, unable to finish my dinner.

After driving home to my apartment, taking a shower and winding down for the night, my dad called to tell me grandma had passed.

And now, five years later, my dad has passed too.

Life. Life is hard.

But I am so thankful for the wonderful people the Lord has put in my life, like my grandma and my dad. They are interwoven into the fabric of my life and my memories and I will forever be grateful for their love and influence. They are a part of who I am.