welcome readers & writers. the family reunion i'm attending this weekend reminds me how much i miss my Grammie, who passed away on the first day of spring, 2009, at the age of eighty-nine. a strong, warm and loving woman, her life's journey proved tremendously difficult at times. the story of her life inspires me deeply. that is her bequest to me. the character of GRAM in my recently completed novel is patterned mostly after Grammie. below is an excerpt from the book, titled Friday, Saturday, Someday:
When the attorney read the will, he handed Glory a letter from Gram – a final goodbye – alive with words of affirmation for all her granddaughter had accomplished. The note, written in Gram’s careful (now wobbly) schoolmarm hand, urged her, “Never stop sprinting for the stars, sweet pea, as you’ve aimed to do since the moment you took your first step.” Glory would never forget how gently the understanding dawned, of just what Gram’s bequest to her would mean. Like the unhurried warming of sunrise after that infamous dark dawn, Gram’s letter signified that the hardest part might finally be over. The hard part had been seeing her so frail, just a wisp of the vivacious, solid woman she used to be. The hard part had been ferreting away every spare moment to spend at the hospital and, when she couldn’t be there, pining to be closer as the minutes drained away so wastefully, so abruptly. The hard part had been the very end, when Gram had squeezed Glory’s hand for the last time. When she'd accepted a kiss from Tommy and warbled, “I love you, darling boys,” to her sons. Not long after that, she'd drifted off to sleep and, somewhere in that mysterious space between nodding off and waking up, she swam away into the dark warm waters of a ten day coma before finally succumbing. Even now, her papery soft wrinkled hand was still palpable in Glory’s own hand, as was the scent of her – baby powder and gardenias.
what story of remembrance are you inspired to tell today? i'd love to read it. post it in the comments section below - 200(ish) words or less. blessings!
