Last Letter to Grandma

Dearest Grandma,

I was working in my garden this morning when Daddy called to say you’d left us and gone home. I felt such an overwhelming relief and joy for you mingled in my grief. You’ve wanted to leave this earth for such a long time now.

At one of our tea parties, you laughed and said that Grandpa might forget who you were if you didn’t get to heaven soon. Remember? Yes, you’ll remember. Your memory has returned now. You remember being a girl and a pesky little sister. You remember when you made your first cake for Grandpa and he came in and ate it all in one sitting before you even got a chance to put the icing on it. You remember being a mother and becoming a grandmother and great grandmother and great-great grandmother. What a lot of memories must be coming back to you today!

Look at all of us, Grandma. You did good. You made such a difference in the world by being here and praying for us every night. You told me that we shouldn’t be sad when you died. You said that it was a grandma and grandpa’s job to teach us how to live, but now that we’re grown it was your job to teach us how to die. You told me to remember all of the people that you love who are in heaven already and to be thankful that you were getting to visit with them again after so many years of missing them.

I’ll remember that you’re rejoicing today with all of those who greeted you as you entered heaven’s gates. You’ve always loved a grand adventure and this is the grandest one of all! I miss you and I’m sad. Just like you said I would be. But I’ll see you again and someday I’ll get to meet all of the people you were looking forward to being with again. Just tell them when you saw me I was on my way.

I guess this is my last letter, the last in a very big stack of letters. I can’t enclose flower petals, autumn leaves or pictures like I usually do, but I’m sure you have plenty of beautiful things to look at in Heaven and lots of things to trigger happy memories. I guess I will just sign this letter the way I have signed my letters to you for decades now.

I love you. I’ll see you soon.

Karen Joy