Goodbye, Grandma

Last week my Grandma passed away. We were just preparing for my mom to come to Seattle and watch Eliana for the week as Nate and I were heading out on a 5-day backpacking mission in the North Cascades. Well, on Saturday, the nurses told my Mom that Grandma would probably not make it through the weekend. Luckily, Mom did not hop on the plane to Seattle and was able to be with my Grandma in her last hours. Nate, Eliana and I were so thankful to spend the week back in Colorado with my family, able to be there at the visitation and the funeral service and to support my Mom through all of it.

The service was beautiful and perfect. My Grandma was smiling down on us as my Mom delivered an amazing eulogy, Amy read Psalm 23 and 1 Corinthians and the hymns were all her favorites - Beautiful Savior, What a Friend We have in Jesus and Amazing Grace - accompanied by a beautiful organ. Eliana was also a ray of sunshine throughout the week. She made my Mom giggle and smile and was a great distraction.

Speaking of distractions, we were at the interment at the cemetery....Nate was a Pallbearer, so I wondered around with Elle Belle and tried to make sure she didn't get hurt while Pastor Sarah was saying a prayer. Well, it just so happened that in the past few weeks, Eliana has started to stomp her feet on all the gutters, sewer covers, basically anything with a metallic cover. Well, what do you suppose is at the cemetery? Yes, I walked around with Elle Belle as she stomped her way on headstone after headstone. I know it's not really funny, but it is. The alternative would have been risking a small tantrum and having the whole service be disrupted so I opted not to interrupt her fun. But then came another surprise. As she was running through the grass and having a grand old time (isn't it great that children don't know what cemeteries are about?) she spotted some stakes with flags on them. They were placed in a rectangular shape, and boy were they colorful! Well, Elle Belle starting picking them up out of the ground and tossing them all over. I was trying to keep up with her and replace them in the ground when I noticed a woman's name was written on one of the yellow flags....yes, Eliana was rearranging the grave digging flags....ooops!! After the service that night when we were re-hashing the day's events, we found ourselves holding our sides at the table laughing uncontrollably at what our little Pumpkin did on those cemetery grounds.

But, the sweetest and probably most sentimental memory for me was when all the Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren got to place roses on my Grandma's casket. Eliana took hers and mine and gently laid them on, and then without us telling her or us realizing she knew what was going on, she said, "Buh bye." I lost it then and will always remember that moment.

Grandma, you were a wonderful woman: gentle, giving, warm and strong. I will always remember the moments at your house and the days spent baking in your kitchen. I will miss your cluttered kitchen table and the treats in your cupboard. I feel so lucky to have grown up only 20 minutes drive from you. I got to know you and I am forever grateful for that. I'm so glad you're in a better, painless place now. Enjoy those cups of coffee up there and give Grandpa a kiss from us. Eliana is learning to blow kisses so she can send them up your way, just as you would stand at the window and blow them to us every time we drove away. I love you and will miss you, Grandma.



Grandma as a young woman. She was a teacher for over 30 years and loved her job.



Esther Lucht and Oscar Swanson on their wedding day; March 2, 1946


The Swanson family. I loved having the job creating the slide show as I got to sift through so many wonderful old photos.



Amy, Grandma and I at Jeff and Cinda's wedding; July, 2005



4 generations: Esther Swanson, Kathleen Dahlgren, Erin Snodgrass, Eliana Snodgrass (5 months)



Our wedding day; September 8, 2007. It just so happened that Grandma was buried on our 4th anniversary.



Waiting at the airport for Jen's flight home. In the old days when we could all go to the gate together:)



Amy, Jennifer, Grandma and I at Elitch's in Denver. What a fun Grandma!



My parents and Amy were so kind to fly Grandma out for my college graduation. She may not have enjoyed the flight that much, but made it and was so excited to be there to celebrate with us. Thanks to Mom, Dad and Amy for making this happen.