Our beloved grandma GiGi passed away this morning. Today is a very sad day. Although she had not been herself for quite a while, the loss hurts all the same. I am very, very grateful for the years and years of happy memories I have but am very sad that Grayson won't ever get the chance to really know his namesake.
Grayson's due date was August 3rd, the same as GiGi's birthday. We saw this as a really good sign. We chose the name Grayson in part because Gray was GiGi's middle name. It seemed especially befitting since their birthday's were intended to be the same. As you all know, Grayson didn't make his appearance until August 8, 2008....the triple eights. Interestingly enough, GiGi would have been 88 this year.
Steve, Grayson and I got to spend some time with GiGi during Thanksgiving and Christmas last year. Although that time marked the start of her rapid decline, I am grateful that we got to be with her, and to tell her that we loved her. GiGi also got to hold Grayson and experience him smiling up at her. That memory I will always treasure.
GiGi's final days were spent under the loving care of Mimi (my mom). Watching my mom care for her own mother during her final days was a constant reminder of how strong the ties that bind us together as family truly are. Mimi sacrificed a lot to take care of GiGi, but she did so without a second thought and without complaint. She would not have had it any other way. I am comforted to know that GiGi left this world under the most caring of circumstances. She was surrounded by the people who loved her and her final days were a labor of love.
It is on days like today that I question the certainty of my own faith. I hope that all I believe is true. I hope that GiGi has gone on to her next adventure and that she is busy catching up with her sister Yvonne and her son Wayne. I hope that we (the ones left behind) are the only ones who are sad and that she has returned to the full glory of her better days. I hope that the spring has returned to her step and that she is planning her next little joke to play (like the time she snatched Mimi's purse from the dressing room and hit it from her!)
I have so much more to say, but for now I will leave it at this. Goodbye GiGi. We love you and miss you already. Please watch out for us and help us to remember to treasure every single moment we have with one another. Remind us to stay complete in our relationships and not to leave any "I love you" unsaid. I promise to tell Grayson all about you and to never, ever forget the fun we had together. I promise to show him the poems and songs you wrote for me and to tell him about all our little giggles together. XOXOXOXOXOXO K
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