I’m back.

Hi everyone. I’m back from Ohio.

So many of you have asked that I thought I’d post an update here on the blog: my Grandma passed away on Sunday, March 20th after a painful battle with pancreatic cancer. Thankfully it was a short battle. And thankfully I got to see her and talk to her, and tell her how much she meant to me one last time.

(J took this photo of Grandma and I in her kitchen back in November. I cried when we left, wondering if that was the last time I’d see her. Turns out that it wasn’t. But this is the last photo I have of her and I together.)

I sat with her for hours and hours at the hospice house, along with my Dad, uncle and sister. So very thankful for the care that they gave her. (And thankful that we could all be there for her. And for everyone who stopped by.)

They say that tragedy comes in 3’s and that’s what it felt like to me: my step-mom’s Dad passed away the day before Grandma. I felt so bad for my Dad — he tried to be in two places at once.

The third tragedy was the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. I’ll never forget watching everything unfold while I was at the hospice house. It turns out that our friends in Japan are all safe. (Does anyone have anything craft-related to raise money for Japan? Please let me know.)

I don’t want to focus on all the tragedies, though.

My Grandma was very special to me, she was like my mom. One time when I was sitting with her I told her all the things that that I learned from her — some of them really made me smile, so I thought I’d share them with you too.

• Try a little bite of a new food, even if you think you won’t like it. (I can’t tell you how many new foods I’ve discovered this way. Including cornbread! Yum.)
• Take your vitamins.
• No matter what you do, always do your best. Even if things don’t work out the way that you want you’ll know you did all you could.
• Vick’s VapoRub fixes every cold. (Although whenever Grandma tried to put some on me I’d run screaming into the bathroom and lock the door. Ha!)
• Don’t work too much.
• Talking over a nice cup of tea is a great way to end the day. (J and I still do this.)
• We all live under the same moon. (When I’d look up at the moon I’d know that she was seeing the same one. I’d feel connected to her, even though I was in Texas and she was in Ohio.)

Grandma also taught me how to sew, and be crafty, and cook. And I’ll never forget sitting on the porch with her in the cool summer evenings watching the rabbits play.

Grandma and I used to send each other hugs over the phone — I don’t remember how it got started. We’d wrap our arms around ourselves and think happy thoughts and I swear you could feel the hug come through.

Hugs to you Grandma. And give one to Grandpa and Debby’s Dad, too.

And HUGE hugs to all of you. (Libby brought me a whole bunch of cards today, I haven’t opened them just yet. But seeing the pile really made me smile. Thanks so much.)