Today I miss my Grandma. It’s not surprising really. We (the Jones clan) are preparing for the semi-annual reunion in Broken Bow and it’s natural that we would realize the loss since Grandma went to heaven last fall and this will be the first reunion without her. Oh, there will be plenty of evidence of her life. Over 100 living breathing evidences, actually. But it just won’t be the same. Other years, Grandma and I would have started talking months ago about the reunion. She really lived those last few years on the anticipation of the next family event, the next birth of a great-grandchild. I’ve missed that. I’ve thought several times about those calls, wishing I could hear her say, “the reunion will be here again before we know it.”
The reunion officially starts at noon on a Saturday, however, for most of us the start was dropping by to see Grandma – and Grandpa when he was alive- when you got to town. First, it was at their house where you would find them hanging out on the porch, receiving their family. The yard would be full of people of all sizes. After Grandma went to the nursing home, the first stop would be her room. Sometimes it got so full we had to take turns. That’s how it started.
The reunion officially ends after dinner Sunday but a lot of people stay until Monday. The real end is when you say goodby to Grandma. Many times there was another “traffic jam” as people stopped by to say goodby Sunday night and Monday morning.
So when does it start and end this year? I don’t know. Maybe we need to have a new tradition. I guess we will adjust and go on, that’s what life is, one change after another. This is one change though that I’m not really enjoying.
Maybe it’s a little glimpse of what it will be like when we get to heaven. We’ll want to see all of the “family” but the first stop. . . that will be when we see Jesus. And the best part. . .there won’t be a visit at the end where we have to say good-by. And God will never say, like Grandma used to, “it’s good to see them come, and it’s good to see them go.”
Kandi Yost Dodson says:
Miriam, just read this and was so touched. I know the feeling of missing Grma. Mine have been gone for many years now, but I hear their voices in my head so clearly. My mother’s voice sounds SO much like her mother’s, that when I talk to her on the phone and she says my name, it just takes me aback, it’s sounds so like Grma Moore!
Loved your comparison to that “first stop” in heaven to see Jesus. What a wonderful thought.
I’m sure you will have a wonderful family time in Broken Bow. Wish I was just a little closer and could stop and say “hi”!
Double Cousins says:
Kandi,
It’s a double edged sword. I had them so long that it is bizarre that life goes on without them. But yet, so many people never even get to meet their grandparents. I have been so blessed! Next time we are driving through Valentine on our way to Rapid I’ll let you know!