This blog is dedicated my Grandma Mary Elizabeth Sarro, she passed away on January 6, 2010.
I have just come back to Africa home from my trip to the US for the Christmas and New Year Holiday. The trip was very fun and needed. I was lucky enough to spend 6 days in Knoxville and 10 days in Oregon. In Knoxville, I was able to spend time with my Tennessee Family the Moyes, visit 21st Mortgage, spend time with church and soccer friends, and had one of the greatest Christmas Days. I am so excited for my friend Whitney who is going to have a baby and I can’t wait to meet him or her when I come back to the states. Spending time in Knoxville made me realize how much of a great life that I had over the previous 3 years, it was a truly amazing place to be!!!
I then headed to Eugene, OR and spent 10 days with my family. I had so much fun with all of my brothers and their friends, my parents, my grandma and my friends. We also had an amazing Christmas Day. My family got me a total of 54 DVD’s to help me get through the months and weeks I will spending in Northern Namibia. Between both Christmas’s I got more than enough stuff to keep me going for the next 6 months; for that I am so thank ful. We also watched a lot of movies, played Apples to Apples, and went bowling.
I had the most amazing two week trip back home and what makes it so amazing is that I got to spend 2 days with my Grandma before she passed away. I am still in a little shock, last Monday I was talking to her and she was fine and healthy and then she passed away 3 hours into my flight from Los Angles to London on Wednesday.
There have been very few experiences in life where I have wanted to be at home with my family and not been able to be there. They are playing the song, “My Favorite Things” – from the Sound of Music before people say their favorite memories of times with Grandma at the funeral today. So whenever I start to get sad about the situation, I sing parts of that song and it seems to make me feel better.
My brother Aaron is reading what I wrote at the funeral today, here is what I wrote:
I guess as relationships with Grand Parents go I was pretty lucky because of the relationship that I had with my Grandma Mary. I think it was that I was sick all of the time as a kid had something to do with it. I would go over to her house and she would make Tomato Soup, we would play scrabble, read books and eat chocolate. Somehow it made having strep throat all of the time not that bad.
As a kid there were things about Grandma that always amazed me, like how she made your bed in the morning even if you were only out of it for a few seconds, how she kept her house so cool with only 2 fans in the hottest time of the summer, or how her hair always looked so good. But it wasn’t until I was a little older that I realized what an amazing and independent woman my Grandma was. I have enjoyed talking with her about her favorite places to travel, what it was like being in the Navy and a little about my Grandpa Joe. I have really enjoyed just being her friend.
The past couple of years have been really hard seeing how age started to change Grandma. I consider it a true blessing that I lived in Eugene one year after college so that I could spend time with her either by taking her shopping or the time Joey and I were able to sit at her house and hand out Halloween Candy.
One of my favorite memories of that year was a surprise birthday that we had for her. I picked her up and told her that she and I were just going to dinner. As I was driving she said that she was glad that we were going to dinner, but that she wished that she would get to see all of her kids. It made me laugh because I knew that her kids, grandkids, and dear friends were waiting for us at the pizza parlor. That was such a special day.
The past few months have been a real true blessing. It was so great to hear how good she was doing and that she had made some new friends where she was living. I even got to hear grandma sing while her friend Judy played the ukulele. I am so grateful for the peace that my grandma had over these past four months.
I know today is a sad day, but grandma would have been so happy that all of her kids, grandkids, great grandkids and dear friends were together. I wish that I could be there with you today, but I think I am exactly where my grandma wanted me to be. I will miss her dearly!
I would have never guessed that this was going to happen but I am so thankful that I was with her 2 days before she passed and that my brothers are still in town to be with my mom. Sometimes life sends you challenges that you never expect, but I have to believe that there is a reason for everything, even if I don't know what that reason is.
I am having meetings tomorrow that should help to decide when I am heading to Namibia. I am getting excited about the projects I am working on and can’t wait to tell you about them.
Love,
Sarah
No comments:
Post a Comment