A recent loss I'm finding harder than expecte.

Last Friday my husband and I made the 8 1/2 hour drive back to my home town. We have made this journey often, but this time was different. I got the call on Wednesday night that my great-grandmother had taken her last breath at the age of 85. So early Friday morning we packed the car and drove down to be with family and say our goodbye.

This is my granny when she was young.

The service itself went well. My dad preached the service. It was a wonderful and beutiful time we came together as a family and put our differences to the side and mourned together. We remembered granny the way she would have wanted us to. As a family unit we gathered together and laughed and cried (mostly cried...) and remembered the beautiful woman granny used to be. After the service we went back to my parents house and ate as a family. There were somewhere around 30 of us (including children) who came for dinner. We sat and caught up with those we haven't seen in a long time, joked with each other, and told stories that touched each of us in a different way.

What we did not prepare for as a family is this time following the service. My granny was sick for quite some time. She was in the hospital for a while, but we had all thought in some way that she was getting better. Though I was mentally prepared that this might happen, I did not prepare myself for the empty spot she left behind. I loved granny so much. Every time I was back home I would go visit her at least once and I would try to see her on my way out of town. She was very fun to talk to and spend time with. Granny was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside before time and age took over. She passed one week ago last night, and I miss her. A part of me wishes I could have spent more time with her and I wish I would have called her more often. However, I cherish every bit of what I was given with her. I appreciate every birthday party and Christmas gathering we had that she was able to come with us. I remember her last birthday we all gathered at my cousins house and celebrated another year we had with her. These were the times we all gathered together to show her our love. I will miss these times we had to celebrate her life.