From Grandma...

My Grandma died this week.

She was 101.

It was time.

Monday I helped my Mom move Grandma (or her stuff) out of her last place.

Two trolley's worth was all that was left.  One above, and one below.

Her last address.  A special photo of her and my grandpa from their younger days.

Her last bed. The room all cleared out, ready for the next grandma.

How we'll remember them.  Mom noted that it's appropriate that the photograph of her and grandpa (the original photograph from which many copies have been made) is starting to fade.

Poetic.

That's how I'd describe her life.

Poetic.

She was a wonderful woman.  Kind, gentle, wise.  Loved her husband and her kids.  Made a huge impact on many lives.

Grandma.

And, you know, as Mom and I moved Granda's stuff out I got to thinking about you and me and about the fact that we're going to go someday too.  

And you might have more than two trolley's worth left but really what you'll have left is your family and your friends and their family and friends and offspring--the people you impacted with your kindness, your gentleness and your accumulated wisdom.

As I packed up her meager belongings I kept thinking about the richness of life she left behind in her kids and her grandkids and her great-grandkids.

And that reminded me to live my life in such a way that it's not the things I leave behind but the people, and what I've invested into their lives.

'Course, if you live your life right, you leave so much behind that nobody would be able to handle the trolleys.

And that'd be a life well-lived.

Like my Grandma's.

Love you K.

T