Today was one of the most poignant days in my life. Last night I got to Sarasota and stopped in briefly to see my Grandmother before going to my cousin's house to sleep. At about 6 am, after only 4 or so hours, I woke up and went back to her nursing home with the intention of staying with her until she had passed away. My aunts and uncle have been coming and going and taking care of her for years and made the decision at the beginning of the week to remove all of her medications. After 97 years, she had seen enough and done enough with us for all of us to know what she wanted for her care.
As the morning wore on, relatives came and went, hospice workers came and offered any comfort they could and at one point the medical staff indicated that we should prepare for her imminent passing. My cousin Alan, who was driving down from Tallahassee, had not yet arrived and I called to find out where he was and when he might arrive. Alan is a few years younger than me and we always had a good relationship when growing up, we see each other not too often now, solely due to geographic distance. When Alan arrived, it somehow quickly became clear that he and I would stay with our Grandmother until the end. Late in the day he and I ran out for a bite of dinner before everyone else left for the night. We had bought an iPhone Scrabble app and were planning on spending the night playing and hopefully reminiscing about our Grandmother.
I could write so much about the next 2 days Alan and I spent together, it was for me a bonding moment. You can't choose your family but you can choose your friends and I hope I can call Alan both. Lets see if he feels that way after our trip to Tibet.
This may be the single video that forced "Marshmallows" on the world.
Oh, and our Grandmother stayed with us for another 2 days, I know Alan wrote a story about the journey, perhaps he'll let me share it here.
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