Remembering

Today is the three-year anniversary of my Granny's passing, and I've been thinking about her a lot today. 

Granny was the only one of my grandparents who got to know me as an adult. I was 34, almost 35, when I got married, and I didn't have Biscuit until I was 40. Granny never hassled me about getting married and having babies like a lot of other people did. She said everybody had to find what would work for them.

Even so, she was really happy when I met and married Jeff. She LOVED Jeff. She especially loved cooking for Jeff. Of course, he didn't seem to mind the eating part of that deal, either.

When I told Granny that I was pregnant, she seemed really happy for Jeff and me. I think she was a wee bit excited to get another great-grandchild, too.

While I was out on maternity leave, I got a weird feeling and told Jeff that I needed to go see Granny. She lived two states away with my uncle, it was January and Biscuit was barely 3 months old. I don't think Jeff was completely comfortable with the idea of the trip, but he had just taken the college sports writer job at the paper and couldn't get time off to go with me. But when I told him I really needed to do it, he supported me.

I called my Mama and asked her to go with me. She said the weather was too unpredictable in January, and it was too far to be traveling with such a little baby. I basically told her that I was going whether she went or not, partly because I knew if I said that she would go with me, and partly because I meant it. I just had a weird feeling about it.

I carried Biscuit into the house in his infant seat with a blanket over him. As soon as I pulled that blanket off, Granny's face just lit up.

We spent the next day just hanging around the house. Granny spent a lot of time staring at Biscuit. She was too weak to pick him up, but if she sat down, I could lay Biscuit in her arms.

The second night we were there, Biscuit woke me up to be fed. After he was full, I was in the process of getting him back to sleep when I heard Granny calling for Mama and my uncle. I went into her room to ask if she was okay. She said she wasn't feeling well and said she thought she needed to go to the hospital.

I got Granny dressed while Mama and my uncle got themselves dressed. I cranked up my uncle's car and turned on the heater. With Mama on one side and my uncle on the other, they helped Granny out of the house toward the car. When she got to the bottom of the front steps, she turned around and said, "Kim, there are some leftover biscuits in the oven and all kinds of vegetables and stuff in the refrigerator. You make sure to make you some food."

I told her I wasn't thinking about food, I just wanted her to get better. Then they left for the hospital.

Granny never came home from the hospital, and I was glad I trusted my gut and went to see her.

I think of her often when I'm watching Biscuit play. I wish she could see him. I wish she could hear him talk and see how smart he is. I wish she could see his smile and his pretty blue eyes.

Even though Biscuit won't remember meeting Granny, I'm going to make sure he knows who she was.

Here are a couple of pictures of Granny meeting Biscuit: