I have been meaning to post this for a while. My sweet little grandmother passed away a couple of weeks ago. I say little b/c at 10 I was taller than she was. She is my dad's mom and had a stroke about a year and a half ago. She was almost 89 and lived a full life. I wasn't as close to her as my other grandmother until she had her stroke b/c she was always busy. We always had to schedule a time to see her way in advance b/c she was always booked! If is was not bowling, coordinating and attending meetings with her church groups, playing bunco or bridge, or working her volunteer job as a church secretary she was attending car club meetings with my grandad or shopping for clothes.She loved to dress in style. I will never forget the time my mom and I noticed a pair of croks in her closet! What is a 87 year old woman doing with a pair of croks and where did she get them and how did she know they were the "hot item" at the time? She was so sweet and timid until she had her stroke, then she would say whatever she wanted, but she was still sweet..We all had to laugh! She was hard of hearing so it got to be a little embarrassing when she would think she was whispering and she would say very loudly "so and so is really getting fat" right when they were walking by. Strokes can change a person, she would have never said that before.
She lived the last year of her life in a nursing home. Her stroke paralized her entire left side so her life changed drastically. She went from super independent to not being able to do anything for herself. She made the best of it and still cared about her friends and family and fashion. I tried to keep her feeling as normal as possible by painting her nails every couple of weeks. She was one of the only ladies in the nursing home with her nails painted. She was so sweet and cute. I really got to know her more this past year and a half. I would go by a few times a week and visit her and some of the other ladies in the home. It has been a few weeks and I miss her. I miss stoping by during lunch and eating with her and doing her nails in the sunroom. Even though I know she is in a better place, I miss visiting with her. I learned a lot form her and will never forget it.
I want to encourage anyone who reads this blog to visit the elderly, they LOVE it! Take your kids to a nursing home and walk around and just smile and say hi. You will be surprised how much it means to them. There are so many people in mursing homes who never get visitors. True, some of the people have no mind at all and do not care, but they appreciate a hug or a smile. There are others, like my grandmother who loved her visitors. Her friends and family helped make each day there ok. It may be a little uncomfortable at first, but gets easier and it is amazing to see people's faces light up when someone gives them some attention.
