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Dear Grandmother, I'm sorry I'm so far away and can't be there
to say goodbye. The distance makes it hard to believe you're
actually gone. No matter where I've been, you've always been for me a piece of home,
whether I was across the country or across the globe. In a world that was always changing,
you remained. My memory is still so full of quiet, precious
times with you. My favorite is the day we all drove to Bay
St. Louis and you told me about the day you eloped with Grandfather and how the next twenty
years were the happiest of your life. You were married to an incredibly good and
loving man, you became a mother, and you watched the fruit of your love grow all around you,
in the friends, the children, family, and husband that you adored. You were so good,
so kind, so upright, so gracious, and more deserving than most of all the rewards a life
well-lived ought to offer. You were truly a woman of God and you deserved a lifetime
of happiness. How I wished with all my heart that I could somehow bring back those twenty
years for you, knowing full well that I never could and knowing, too, that just as your
83 years have sped so quickly by, so too will my own. Whether it's the ticking of the clock
or the passing of a lifetime, every moment of our lives is fleeting.
I remember your voice--so tender and loving. I remember your scent of musk and floral.
I remember your smile, how it graced your face in the gentlest of ways. And I remember
your laugh--how much it resounded from the heart. I remember you so well, Grandmother,
I just can't yet believe that you're gone, but perhaps that's because of all the love
you've given me. Much as you've always been, you're still with me: in the home of my heart
you'll always remain. Always,
Ellie