Wednesday, July 2, 2008

2 years...

2 years ago, I lost my grandmother. I know I have posted a few times about her, my grief, and how important she was to me. Today, I thought I would share something that only the people attending her funeral heard...her eulogy.

To set the stage, I wrote this in one shot the night before her funeral. I was almost 2 weeks postpartum, up all night because of grief and a newborn, so my emotions were raw. Well, here it goes:


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Margaret Carey lived a blessed life. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend. She was an active member of her community through the Elk’s Club and American Legion. She touched many people’s lives, as we can see from all of the friends and family who have come to share in this time. On behalf of our family, I want to thank you all for being here.


Although today is our chance to say goodbye, it’s also a time to celebrate my grandmother’s life. She was the true matriarch of the family, the mother bear who took care of us all. She was always there for us, no matter what was going on. I’m sure there were times that we wished she wasn’t so nosey, but that’s just the way she was. You could always count on her to keep up with what was going on around her, even if she had to peek out the curtains at her house to find out.


Grandma gave us many gifts. She provided us all with a strong base to grow from. From her three daughters down to her grandkids, she has given us all a piece of her. Although we may have all been embarrassed by her screaming across the street at 4 o’clock in the afternoon that it was time for dinner, we appreciated her taking care of us. There was never a need to thank her, she just did it.She never cared what other people thought of her. In fact, she was always open and honest about the way she felt. At one time or another I’m sure we all heard her call someone a pain in the ass with no apology for it. Some people may have felt this was a major fault, but it was just grandma.


From her Star magazine obsession to stocking tons of toilet paper, Grandma had little quirks that we all loved. Like the fact that we always knew what we were having for dinner by what day of the week it was, or how a powdered sugar donut and a cup of tea was a perfect bedtime snack.


My grandmother was never one for showing her emotions, however we all knew how much she loved each and every one of us. She always had a hug waiting for us whenever we needed to be comforted, or the wooden spoon ready when we were in trouble. And in the end, we were able to do the same for her. As she left us, she was surrounded by the love and support of her family, just as she is today.


For all of this, I thank you, Grandma. You were truly a blessing to all of us, and will be missed.

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I think it's amazing how I can look back upon that 2 years later and still feel the emotion it was written with. I see flaws in it, like maybe I was trying to be more funny than serious, or that I should have added more about how wonderful she was, how she raised me to be the person I am today. How I wish I could go back and spend more time with her, call her more often just to tell her I missed her. Or how I think about her every day still and wonder if she would be proud of me. How I see her in my girls, their spunk and stubbornness, but also the way they always know when I'm thinking of her and need a hug.


I'm sure I will always wonder and wish and grieve. I guess that's part of remembering. I love you, Grandma, and I miss you more than anything.

2 comments:

little miss mel said...

I think it was well written. Your grandmother would have been so proud.

I lost mine last October. It's amazing the older we get, the more we value our grandparents. Losing a couple when I was younger, I had no idea the impact it would be to have them not here anymore.

Hang in there.

Leigh Ann said...

What a great eulogy. I'm so glad you shared. :)