Grammie Grace

Grammie Grace passed away yesterday morning in the Nursing Home. We were not surprised, as she was 95 years old. The amazing thing was, when we visited her last week, she was still knitting Barbie Clothes, just as she had so many years ago.
Grace was an amazing woman. A hard worker, and so creative. When I think of how stubborn Philip can be by times, and how stubborn his mother is; I know exactly right where it came from. Grace had such determination, and could be so contrary. But when you are in your 90's, you have every right to be contrary. Grace led her life HER way. She was so independent, and hated the idea of going to the Nursing Home. It was so sad when she couldn't get a bed in GM, and had to go to Passamaquoddy for awhile. It was ok, though, because that just meant other family members got to visit her.
When I first started seeing Philip, I remember her going to market with her card table and styrofoam trays with Barbie clothes. And lobster suckers! I thought those were the most amazing. Eventually, she stopped going to market, and finally went to the Nursing Home. Dalton and I decided when we started going to market, we would sell lobster suckers, too; our little tribute to carrying on Grace's tradition. Every week, we headed to the nursing home right after church. It was often a short visit, as Dalton was always hungry and Grace had just finished her dinner. But we know it meant a lot to her.
When Dalton first got sick last summer, the family tried to shelter Grace, but word travels in a small community very quickly. I finally made the call home from ICU, to assure her Dalton would be alright and to not worry. It eased her mind somewhat, but she still worried, naturally.
Through the winter while we lived away, we would try to call Grace with updates again, especially on Sunday afternoons. The day we got the news at the hospital that Dalton could finally go home to Grand Manan was a pretty happy one. We had our list of people who had to get phone calls, including grand parents, Selena and Caroyl. The special people in Dalton's heart.
And of course, Grammie Grace. I managed to contain myself through phone calls, until that one. Tears came on both ends of the phone. She was so happy, and made us promise to drive up to her window at the nursing home so she could see for herself that Dalton had finally come home.
Thanks, Wilfed, for doing that!
This morning I went for my walk again at 6:30. The air is cool, feels fallish, and I watched two flocks of Canada Geese go by in formation. That is one of my most favorite things in the world. Almost as if God is telling us to stop and look around, time is going past; so be sure to make some noise along the way, and enjoy the beauty of the land. Thanks, Grace, for passing through our lives, and making some noise along the way.