Moments D585: Peace at last

Today my Grandmother passed away.  She was the last of my living grandparents.  That alone is a strange notion.  After all, life is always moving forward.  This now means that my father is the eldest of the family.  Of course, that also shines a bright light upon his mortality as well.  All the more reason to

For me, my heart is accepting of the news.  It's partially because I didn't know her well as she and Grandpa lived on Manitoulin Island for most of my childhood and early adult years.  It's also because the woman I knew has been gone for years, lost to Alzheimer's.

For my father, of course, that's a different story.  As the current patriarch of the family, he lost his mother and the last link to that generation.  Being the executor of Grandma's estate, he also found himself tied up with lots of phone calls and logistics right out of the gate.

The moment today comes from when I was finally able to connect with my Dad on the phone.  I was a touch worried that he was in "get-the-job-done" mode and not really processing the news.  So I tentatively explored that with him.

He's sad.  There's no doubt about that.  He's also relieved that Grandma has found peace at last.  The past two years in particular have been challenging with Grandma (and for him) and it's been a painful, emotional ride to have watched his mother deteriorate as she did.  I didn't realize this (because he shared few details when I've asked of Grandma), but Grandma wasn't eating solid foods any more and she's had a couple of terrible seizures in the past few months.  In other words, there have been signs that the end was nearing.

For my Dad, he finds comfort in knowing that Grandma is at peace now, that she'll suffer no more.

For a brief moment, my father and I re-visited our opinions on euthanasia and how he hopes that he'll have to experience what my grandmother went through.  He even shared with me that Grandma feared the disease that eventually consumed her and that had there been options, she never would have suffered as she did.

Nature took over and now she is at peace.

Our family is thankful for that.  We will always celebrate the woman she once was.

Moments of death.

Moments celebrating a life.