Oddly enough, the glass in the picture was brought to my
grandma by an aide in the hospital, even though she cannot drink, nor will be
able to again.  It did please my
cousin Steve though, who was thirsty. 
It provoked a good laugh.

But more than that, I couldn’t help but see it as a
metaphor…..the half full or the half empty glass.  I came up and did something I never fathomed in my entire
life….I gave my grandmother the Last Rites.  No, it was not due to some special place in her life, it was
that I happen to be the grandchild who is the priest.  And any of us would step up for her and do anything,
regardless of how hard.   And
it was hard.  BUT, many of us
remember the poor care we had from the church to which my grandparents belonged
and were active in for years.  I
know I didn’t want to do all that again…..and with that, I will do the funeral
as well.

But what I see all around me is that metaphor.  There is not one of us who isn’t in
pain and we all will miss her.  
Even now, though she is still with us, we will never hear her call our
names or have her in the way we have known.  And perhaps that is the half empty glass.

But I think I can speak for all of us grandchildren and say
that there is not one of us who didn’t know that she loved us, and who cherished
all the great times we have had with her. 
There weren’t too many made like her.  And the best part of having a grandma like that is blessings
she bestowed upon us in our lives.

I am her first and therefore oldest grandchild.  That makes me no more special than the
rest.  I will say I asked her how
it felt to be 95, and she said not too bad….but the hard part was to admit that
she had a 50 year old grandson! 
She was special to us, and we all were special to her.

We will say good-bye to her sometime very soon, but for us,
ultimately that glass is pretty dang full.  Not everyone gets to have a grandma like her….we did.  And for all of us it has made a
remarkable difference.

Thanks grandma! 
We love you!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+