Life was not so much easier twenty years ago.
Twenty years ago today, I went to work but left my cell phone on my kitchen counter. I went to work, went to class afterward, came home... and there were 8 messages on my machine and about 15 missed calls on my phone. And just from the sheer number, I immediately knew exactly what all of them were about to tell me: that it was the day my grandmother had been awaiting for 40 years. She was with her husband again.
I never told my family what inspired the opening of the eulogy I gave for her, but it was Don Lockwood's "Rewind" - specifically, Ed's eulogy for Beth. My opening was, "It is often said at a time like this that she is in a better place. And she is. But more than that, we are in a better place. We - her daughter, her grandchildren, all of us who knew her - we are in a better place because she was part of our lives."
This morning I went back and re-read that part of his story, to remember a bit, and I saw his blog post promising to finish "Rewind." Which he wrote in 2019. And it pricked my conscience a bit.
I do promise to finish "The Inches Between Us" and even the story I teased in my previous blog post, "Mail Order Annie." But first I want to remember a bit. And, in case word of this should ever reach him, to thank Don Lockwood for a moment of inspiration when I needed it most.
As a postscript to this post, several months later, we were sharing stories and recalled the story of how she met my grandfather. And we realized that the day of her passing was 39 years to the day after their first date.
My mother tells of being with her when she passed, and how, a few minutes before, my grandmother sat bolt upright in her hospital bed, eyes wide, and silently pointed at something. I believe that he came for her, and I can't think of a better ending for her.