Carolina on my mind

So just when we thought our world was turned on it's ear... we lost my grandmother (Mabel Tipton) last night.  She was 90 years old.  I have yet to inform the kids of her passing, but I expect Ethan to take this news rather hard.  When we left the hospital on the day he was born, her house was our first stop. Not very many kids have the good fortune of getting to spend 8 years of their life with their great grandmother in it.

I love this picture. Found it in her closet last night.

While Emerson was always a bit reluctant to go over and give Nanny a kiss on the cheek, or to engage her in conversation...  Ethan could always be relied upon.  Of all of Nanny's grandchildren, she had the most exposure to my children as a result of our proximity to her home.  I believe that they brought a tremendous amount of joy to her during these twilight years.  I am truly grateful for all of the time she was able to spend with them.  It pleased her to no end to see the kids scarf up the fresh green beans from Uncle Bud's garden which were a staple of most meals we shared.

Ethan did have an opportunity of seeing her alive last Thursday.  We visited after the MRI and she was resting comfortably.  But Nanny's passing will be their first exposure to death and the grieving process.  This will be their first funeral and viewing.  That's upsetting for me, but it is my hope that they might adopt my own personal take on the issue.  I'd rather them view this event as one which should be celebrated.  I'm not an overly spiritual person but I do believe that Nanny has gone home.  Whether that's in heaven, some other reality like the mountains of North Carolina....  I hope that wherever she has gone that she is happy, free, and surrounded by all of the people and things that she loved.  The kids were made aware that she is dying and I explained to them that what they might soon see is only but a vessel and that her spirit, which made her uniquely Nanny, or what makes me uniquely me, or their dog Moe uniquely Moe isn't a physical thing that you can touch.  Once the body fades away, the spirit has to go somewhere... out there into the ether I suppose.  So I tried to really impress upon them that she's not gone, that the part of her that we loved most lives on. 

And they seemed pleased with that idea. 

I know Emerson will process this easily.  Ethan is another story.  He'll be devastated for sure.  I plan to tell him tonight after school.  As always, keep your fingers crossed for the bug.