yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail...

...and mortal life shall cease;

I shall possess, within the veil,

A life of joy and peace.

This Sunday was a pretty typical Sunday for our family.  Church in the morning, a little football, lunch with some good friends, a little more football...

And then a phone call.

Anytime I get a phone call in the evening or at night, I always suspect that it's something bad.  I wouldn't say that in general I am a pessimist, but pretty much every "bad" phone call I have received has happened when the sun goes down.  So when our home phone rang, my first thought was "Uh oh".  Most of the time I am wrong in my assumption that it will be bad news, but this time, I wasn't.

My dad was on the other end, and after asking me how everyone was doing, informed me that my grandmother, Nana, passed away this evening.  She was breathing at 4pm, and wasn't the next time her caretakers checked on her at 6pm.

After a few tears, I decided to go over to her house to say goodbye.  My husband stayed home with the kids.  When I arrived, a few family members were there.  The smooth voice of Dean Martin was softly serenading her as she was lying in her bed, looking just as though she had fallen asleep.  I have seen a few people after they have passed and one thing always strikes me... how different a person looks after their soul leaves their body.  It's amazing how we are so much more than our physical bodies.

I have so much I could write about Nana.  From our weekly Sunday night dinners complete with spaghetti, meatballs, homemade bread and chocolate cake, to her yelling at her sons in Italian - she was a pivotal person in our family, and the memories she has given us will be cherished.

While I am sad she has left this earth, part of me rejoices.  She had been on a decline for a while.  I watched the Nana I knew as a child slowly slip away.  It's hard to watch... it's hard when your grandma forgets who you are.  I know it's not her fault, and I'm sure it was frustrating for her, but it broke my heart seeing her look at me, my cousins, even her own children with a look of confusion on her face.  And towards the end, the majority of her days were spent sleeping in her bed, barely eating.  That's no life for a person, especially for someone like Nana who was always so full of life.  So while I am sad she is gone, I've actually been grieving the loss of my grandma for a while now.  Knowing that she is now free is almost a relief.  I know she is with her Savior now, and for that, I rejoice.

I thank you all ahead of time for your condolences.  Even though this has been something we have been anticipating for a while, it's always hard to say goodbye, so your prayers for my family would be appreciated.  For those of you who are close to my family and are interested in attending her service, I'm sure I will be posting information about that on my facebook once we have that finalized.

Goodbye, Nana!  You will be missed!

~ Mama Frenchy