Eulogy Help

[monster]

Thank you all.

When you make the decision to move thousands of miles from your home and family, what will happen if/when a family member dies is one of the most prominent thoughts.

That thought helped me realise that you need to appreciate people for who they are right now, because tomorrow they may not be there for you to appreciate. So I did, and I mentally said goodbye to Grandma last time I saw her (4 years ago). Even then, she wasn't the grandma I carry with me in my memories. The one who hated to dust (so never did) ((like me)) but thought a new coat of paint /varnish solved everything so every surface was a poem in Braille -dust encapsulated by the latest coat.

[Beestie]

I hope you don't mind but merely as a gesture of support during your hour of grief, I took the liberty of interpreting your eulogy thusly:

To most of the lives she touched, she was Florence May Thingumajig but she'll always be "Grandma" to me.

While I cannot be with you to celebrate her life and say goodbye to her, I treasure and will forever keep the love she gave to me and to her grandchildren.

But no matter where I am, Grandma will always be with me just as each of you will always be with me. I can still hear Grandma in Hebe’s happy chatter and in Thor’s mischievous giggle. And I can still see Grandma in the twinkle of Hector’s sparkling blue eyes.

I think of Grandma every time we make apple pie. How we insisted that she no longer climb those steps to pick her own apples and how she waited until we left to climb them once more (Thor thanks you for this trait, Great-Grandma).

I think of Grandma as I teach Hebe to play cards. And even though we haven’t gotten to Bridge yet, I have no doubt that it will come as naturally to Hebe as it did to her.

Whenever my children win swimming trophies, I think of Grandma and wish she were here to see it. I fondly remember the joy she found in all the sporting and academic achievements of all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I could see her smile as clearly as if she were here.

I remember the lovely collection of toys she kept for the children in the metal tin with the raised picture that we used to do brass rubbings with. Hector would have loved that -and the pool balls. (He and Thor would probably have fought over the purse but Hebe is much too grown-up for such things!)

And as I toil with coordinating my children’s activities with a fleet of carpools to get everyone everywhere they need to be, I remember that while she never drove, Grandma, with a little help from her friends, always managed to be everywhere she wanted to be. Thanks, Grandma.

I miss Grandma very much as I miss all of you.

From my children, I am blessed with moments when through a joyful laugh, an innocent smile or a simple act of love each of you shines through them and for a spontaneous instant, we are together. I have come to treasure those moments and it is through them that I remember you. And it is in this way I that remember Grandma and it is how she continues to be an inseperable source of fun, happiness and, most of all, the love that only Grandma could give.

My condolences.