Dealing with Death

I was going to title this post, "Preparing for Death", but Granny died early this morning--about 2:15 am according to Melissa's parents. We knew that her days with us were few, but we didn't know how few. We last visited her on her birthday a couple months ago, and Melissa was planning on going back again tomorrow, but now we'll just head to Statesboro or Metter for the funeral later this week. What follows is a speech that Melissa's dad asked her to prepare in order to deliver it at the funeral. I am posting this entirely without her consent, but she sent it to me so I could give her an impression of it, and I think it is beautiful. Candid and beautiful. Let us know what you think:

I’ve thought about this day for quite some time. I knew it was coming, but you’re never really quite prepared. I think about Granny all the time. Especially these last 7 or 8 years. My mind always goes back in time to when Mark and I were little. I always remember certain things about Granny and they always comfort me. I so wish I could go back and relive some of these times. I remember she made the absolute best pancakes in the entire world. I remember the smell of her kitchen. The pancakes cooking and coffee perculating in that old perculator she had. I loved the smells and sounds of her kitchen. She made an endless stack of pancakes whenever we spent the night and I would eat as many as possible. She never complained about cooking more. I remember making endless trips to the laundry mat in her blue dodge. I can remember how that blue dodge smelled…it smelled like Granny , Papa, White Shoulders and her endless supply of trident gum. In the summer, there was also a slight scent of Skin So Soft. We couldn’t go through a visit to Granny without her coating with Skin So Soft. I remember how I loved playing house on the back porch of her trailer. I would sweep that porch all day waiting for Papa to come home. Granny and I would greet him with a big glass of iced tea in those dented glass ice tea mugs they had and he would drink his tea and smoke his Camel cigarettes. I loved his smell. He smelled like sawdust and Camels. I always remember that smell. I remember how I loved when Granny started cooking dinner. It smelled like heaven in that small trailer kitchen. I’d eat whatever she made. Until the day she tried making my mom’s german potato pancakes. Potato pancakes are shredded raw potatoes cooked in a skillet of hot oil. I knew that much. I knew there was going to be trouble that evening when I saw her mixing the pancake mix with potato flakes. I’m quite sure I ate those as well though. You never insult your grandmother’s cooking if you can help it! I remember going through her medicine cabinet and getting into her endless supply of Avon perfumes, lotions and other beauty products that were too tempting for a 10 year old to stay away from. I always remember thinking what does she do with all of this stuff. I think she had the same collection when she lived in The Summit. I was in high school then and remember thinking…what does she do with all of this stuff. I do remember thinking how good she smelled and how put together she always looked. It was my granny that really taught me the important of prayer. I didn’t realize at the time what she was trying to instill in me. She’d visit in Atlanta and that is where I was introduced to devotion. I don’t think as a 10 year old I realized that spending 30 mins on my knees in devotion while my friends were at the door wanting to play was going to influence my adult life. I just thought she was talking to Jesus and forgot were she was and kept starting over. Later on in life, when my Dad traveled for weeks and months, I would pray endlessly at night that he would be safe and come home soon. Sometimes, I would pray until I feel asleep. It wasn’t until several years ago that it occurred to me that Granny is the reason I do pray so much. It was also Granny’s influence that made me love the old hymns. I remember how she loved to hear me play Sweet Hour of Prayer, Rock of Ages and Amazing Grace on the piano. Fortunately, for you, I’m not playing them today. I’m quite out of practice. She sang these songs as long as I can remember and always knew the words. I’m quite sure even though her eyes may have been closed her last days here with us, she was still singing those sweet old hymns in her head and talking to Jesus. She had such a strong faith. I know in my heart that she left this earth knowing she was going home to Jesus. I feel quite sure that he had her wrapped in his arms these last few days and she was beaming on the inside. Her mind and body wouldn’t let her share this wonderful experience with us, but I know she was being comforted. She is where she has always talked about going. Her soul is at home where she belongs and has been yearning to go. She is finally at peace in her heart and her memory has been restored. Granny and Papa have touched all of her lives. I can’t mention one without the other. Now they are both together again. These are my memories of Granny and of Papa that comfort me. I know you all have your own and I hope they offer you comfort as well.

Catching Up...

There have been so many posts that I have thought about doing, but haven't made the time to do. Work has been crazy busy lately--I even worked 8 hours yesterday (a Sunday). Yikes! But my days on this project are numbered, so hopefully I'll get back to a normal routine soon. Melissa and I had an awesome weekend! Friday night was the John Mayer concert at Chastain Park, an amphitheater in Atlanta. Now I don't have any of his albums, but I've enjoyed what I've heard on the radio. We have some friends who thought it would be a good idea to go to the concert, get a table to sit at (that's one of the attractions of Chastain), have dinner there and then enjoy the show. So that's what we did. You can't really tell any detail from the picture here, but that's John somewhere in the middle. My camera phone works better with up-close pictures... Then we spent the night at the Homewood Suites in Buckhead, a couple miles from the amphitheater. I used some of my many Hilton Honors points for it--the ones I've been collecting while traveling so much over the past 3 or 4 years. Woke up and had a nice big (free) breakfast, and then picked up the girls and headed up to the North Georgia Mountains for our annual fall getaway. We picnicked at Amicalola Falls, which is where the approach trail is that takes you to Springer Mountain, the southern end of the Appalachian Trail. This is at least the 5th year in a row we've gone. (And since we moved to Alpharetta, the drive hasn't been as long, either, which is nice.) Our visit isn't complete until we go to Burt's Pumpkin Farm. I don't have any of the pictures we took there, yet (they're on Melissa's computer), but take a look at the web site, see the pictures of the pumpkins, and then imagine 1,000 all walking around, kicking up a little dust, and you'll get an idea of what our experience at Burt's was like. Reading the first part of this article sounds a little like our Saturday, only in reverse (Burt's Farm came first in the article). A couple of weeks ago I had heard that it was supposed to be peak leaf weekend this past weekend, but I think it is yet to come. The leaves were still pretty green, and only slightly starting to turn. Anyway, that's all for now. I still need to get some pictures up from Ella's second birthday, which was at the beginning of September. Like I said, I've been too busy lately!