Three Holidays and a Funeral

[mijan]

I'm going to be out of touch for the next few days.  Yes, I'll check my e-mail on my godmother's computer, but I'm going to be far too distracted and busy to hang around the computer.  The morning after Christmas, we got a phone call from my godmother, letting us know that my grandmere is fading fast.  She's 94, and we were expecting this, but it's never easy when it happens. 

She's still alive as of this morning, but they don't expect her to last until New Years.  At this point, she's stopped eating, and she's barely responding.  She lived a wonderful life, so this isn't a tragedy, but she *is* my last living grandparent, and she and I were always very close.  Yesterday morning, she asked for my mother to come, and now, we know that she's basically waiting for us to arrive, to see us one more time.  My mother is her only child, and my sister and I are her only grandchildren.  She has a lot of nieces and nephews though, and many cousins.  We have a large extended family, but a very small immediate family.  Still, we're Acadian - to us, family is family.  It'll be okay.

So, we're leaving in about 5 minutes for Nova Scotia.  We'll be driving up through Maine, into New Brunswick, and then we'll take the ferry from St. John to Digby, Nova Scotia.  From there, we'll drive south to the village that my family is from.  It's about 25 minutes drive east of Yarmouth, for anyone who knows the area.  We'll be okay, the weather is supposed to be fair, and we have three capable drivers.  I just want everyone to know where I'll be, so that nobody wonders.

Take care, and I hope everyone has had a good Solstice and Christmas, is having a happy Hannukah, and will have a happy New Year. 

*hugs*
~Michelle

Comments

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay, I`ll add you under the new username.

My grandmere had a little bit of dementia from old age, but not Alzheimers. It`s never easy, but we called her on Christmas day, and she was able to coherently respond to my mother on the phone, even if just for a moment.

[viridescence]

You shouldn't have to do anything--my friends and friends-of remained intact with the name change. aprillily shows as deleted, which is how I set it up, as the short story is that I let slip my username to someone I didn't want to know about my journal.

I'm glad you got to talk to her, and her to you. My grandma never really got the chance to say goodbye--she just slowly deteriorated and we'll never know if she understood us telling her that we love her. She's in a home now, and my grandpa visits her every day, still. I hope you were able to see your grandmere before she passed, at least.

*hugs*

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Actually, we arrived literally one minute too late to see her. Such is the way of things, I suppose. It`s okay. We managed to talk to her on Christmas day, and she responded, knowing what we were saying ot her, and she gave appropriate responses, telling us to have a Merry Christmas and that she loved us too.

Anyhow, I have to go. The second half of the wake is starting.

[viridescence]

I'm glad that you got to talk to her at least, and her to you.

Have a safe trip home, Michelle.

*hugs*

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Thanks, sweetie. I just got home, and I'm completely exhausted. I'll try to be online soon though. Have a happy New Years. *hugs*

[viridescence]

You're welcome. Take your time, and take care of yourself. *hugs* I hope you have a good New Year's, too!

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Awww, snuggly polar bears! *grins*

[viridescence]

Hee. Love that icon.