Eileen D. Day, December 1924- July 2009

Tonight, my grandma went to be with Jesus. We were expecting it to be soon. It hurts. I'm sad. BUT, I'm happy because she's not laying in a nursing home, suffering any more. She broke her hip when she had a stroke in January and they weren't able to repair it. She talked to me about being ready to die several times before that. She lived a long life. I know that she is thrilled to see my grandpa again, she missed him so much.

I have many many fond memories of her from my childhood. I remember sitting beside her at the piano (which I now own) and singing anything and everything I could think of while she played the tune. I remember sewing with her many many times. I hated it. She loved it. I remember making Christmas candy with her and Grandpa and sharing it with her neighbors and friends and us. I remember hearing her pray the very same prayer every night before we went to bed, when we spent the night there. She never altered it and I can still quote a few lines of it! (hehe!) I remember riding in the car on the arm rest between her and Grandpa.

I cared a lot for her physical needs over the last almost 20 years. I didn't do it all by any means, but I did a lot. I'm so glad I did. Because of it, she shared a lot of memories with me about her younger years. Also, she got to spend a lot of time with my kids, mostly Lauren. Although, Brookelyn loved to go to her house when she was sick because Grandma always had popsicles ready in the freezer for just an occasion as that and she would never catch whatever ailed Brookelyn. Nathan was a light of her life. She prayed hard for his little life. In the process of trying to get pregnant with Nathan, I went through a regimen of taking meds and one of the lovely side effects of it was that I was losing weight. I would go to her house weekly and weigh myself. She cheered for me every time, over even one pound lost.

My grandma cried with me when I lost my four babies. She never lost one of her own, but she always had a tender ear for me when I could talk about it with her. I hope she can hold them and love on them for me tonight.

She adored my children. She was extremely proud of them. She loved having them come to her house and spend time with them. They returned that love to her. She loved my husband. We spent a lot of late evenings at her house when we were dating because I lived with her at the time.

Last summer, she had a mild heart attack. When I went home from the hospital, Brookelyn asked me if Grandma had Jesus in her heart and would she go to Heaven if she died. (I knew the answer and story behind it, but felt like it was something Brookelyn should hear directly from Grandma.) I told her I'd take her to the hospital so she could ask her herself. I took her into Grandma's room and sat her on the bed beside Grandma. She asked Grandma the same questions. With tears in her eyes and rolling down her cheeks because Brookelyn was tender enough to love her that much and needed to know that, she explained to Brookelyn that indeed she had Jesus in her heart and would go to Heaven when she died and how she knew that without a shaddow of doubt. I'll never forget sitting on that bed with Grandma and Brookelyn and the three of us crying together out of joy and hope that someday we'd all be re-united in Heaven.

One of the legacies I will take away from my grandma's life is that many many many times in my childhood and adult life I found her with a Bible in her lap, spending time with a Jesus she knew intimately and loved dearly. There is nothing more precious to me than that about her. I would stop by often times and find her that way or see her that way, in her front window as I pulled the car in the driveway. I hope my children remember me with a Bible in my lap and a love for my Jesus, Lord, and Savior as I saw and remember in her.

She has suffered a lot in the last 18 or so months. My last visit with her was 2 wks ago. After not knowing me the last couple of times, she knew full well who I was this time. She knew all three of my children this last time. She told all 4 of us that she loved us individually. I got to see a smile on her face and the light of joy and recognition in her eyes one last time as I held each one of my children in front of her face so she could see them, call them by name and tell each of them she loved them. (I didn't see that the last couple of times before that, when we visited her.) I'll cherish the memory of that for the rest of my life.

She was proud of me. She told me that often. It felt good to know she was.

I took the picture below at the end of December. I couldn't get her to look at the camera because she wanted to look at Nathan. Her hair isn't done in this picture, so I feel a bit bad that I didn't think to comb it out BEFORE I took the picture (I did afterward). She didn't care. I'm glad I have it.