See Ya Later, Mamaw

In January, the blog post, Picked by God (https://problemfreephilosophy.blog/2020/01/09/god-picks/), featured Jacob’s grandmother, referred to as Mamaw. I referenced what a tough time she’d been through recently. A couple of weeks ago, one of the aides that helped take care of her said she knew Mrs P was declining when she didn’t respond to her, ‘see ya later alligator’ with an ‘after ‘while crocodile’.

Last week, on Jacob’s birthday, she took her last earthly breath. It had been 13 months since an early morning fall in her kitchen, resulted in broken vertebrae in her back. From that point on, she never returned to her home, never stood on her own, never made her famous potato salad or deviled eggs. Never, never, never. Her life took a drastic turn. And she went through terribly hard times we’d never wish on her or anyone.

But today, I want to focus on the wonderful life she lived!

A friend once said that flowers and words are for the living. A year and a half ago, I wrote this poem for her birthday. To take the opportunity to say what I could, while I could:

In just 30 years I’ll be your age.
By then, you will have been in heaven for many days.
Before you go, whether today or years from now,
Thank you for being the best mother-in-law since I took the vow.
Your spirit of fun in all you do.
The crazy times, oh I didn’t have a clue.
Remember Lauri asking how to spell my name?
T-e-r-r-i-b-l-e, you told her without shame.
Your big pots of spaghetti were always a hit.
We looked forward to those times, I admit.
Quick to offer to keep our boys,
And you never seemed to mind all the noise.
A generous heart with all you had,
Giving to others made you glad.
Your green thumb was a natural gift,
Transforming your yard so beautiful and swift.
Moving furniture around was a favorite thing to do,
Not sure Mr. P enjoyed it nearly as much as you.
You were good at painting a room or even the ceiling,
Although that paint spill in the den left a bad feeling.
Of all the endearing, special traits you display
Your laughter is one that can brighten any day.
Another year older Momma Louise,
Won’t you have a good birthday, please?

This week I shared the poem at her funeral but subbed the following lines for the last two:

My heart is sad, now that you’re gone.
Thankful for the promise that I’ll see you before long.

The last time Jacob saw his Mamaw was in December. On Christmas day, we took him to visit her in the nursing home. She was very glad to see him. It was hard for me to figure out how Jacob felt about it though. Mainly because he’d never seen her in a bed. Never seen her ‘look’ sick. I’m sure it was a little confusing for him. It was a visit we were uncertain about, but glad we chose to take him.

Oh, how she loved Jacob. She had a digital photo frame that stayed on her bedside table. Her eyes would literally light up at pictures of Jacob. Always asked us how he was doing. Quick to explain, she couldn’t really say he was her favorite because she loved all of her grandchildren. BUT, he was extra special.

Jacob knew her love for him was deep and wide. Without expecting anything in return. Mamaw was ‘for him’ and did indeed delight in his existence.

It was extremely sad for me that she passed away on his birthday. Quickly, Mike said, “well I think it proves one thing, he was her favorite”. I’d agree that he was that day for sure.

How we will miss that sincere, unconditional love. But, oh how thankful we are that she is more alive than ever because of her faith in Jesus Christ. And Jacob will see her again one day. We will, too.

See ya later, Mamaw! We’ll see you after ‘while.