1. meemaw broke her damn arm.
2. meemaw is retiring...forcefully for the second time.
3. meemaw isn't driving anymore...forcefully.
4. meemaw is seeing a neurologist for alzheimer's.
5. meemaw is otherwise in perfect health.
it's been hard to wrap my mind around what this means; to really accept the things that are happening and the changes that are real. truth is, i'm half a year away from 28 and she is 84. she is our matriarch, our glue, my strength, and to many she is the sweetest soul on earth. she is confident and honest. emotionally she is a rock. she has lived the last 26.5 years without her husband and the last almost 14 months without her only son. she's a good sport when i tease her and a sponge when i teach her. my family is lucky to have her, to have learned from her, to experience life through the tiny elephant-like eyes that we all look to for comfort, reassurance, or our own happiness. behind those eyes is a woman that has spent the majority of her life away from her homeland and her family. a woman who knows heartbreak and heartache. a woman who has told me in some of my darkest hours, "when you get mad, you cry and that's ok. just do it and then move on."i'll lift her up anyway that i can - i adore the ground her size 5 feet walk on and i stand in awe of everything she is.
i have cried a little everyday this week, but i haven't moved on. i'm anxious to see her again and bend down to hug her little frame and kiss the cheek that comforts like the calm after a raging storm.
i am so happy that she met my girl last week, it was really really important to me. the picture of the two of them is super sweet.
