(I wrote this post on 12/8/10)
The other day I went and visited my Grandma who lives at an Assisted Living Home. There was a nurse in her room just checking up on her and when she was leaving, she said, "Your Grandma is a sweetheart! I wish I could hear her life stories!" I told her, "Me too! She is pretty amazing!"
On my way home, I started to cry as I thought about my grandma and all that she could have told this nurse about her life. My grandma had a stroke 8 years ago that partially left her without the ability to use the right side of her body. She also lost a lot of her speech. ( She still will say "good bye", "I don't know", sometimes "I love you", and occasionally "
kiyomi") Before the stroke, my grandma always came to my soccer games, my brother's baseball games, and my cousins sports activities as well. She was always so active and loved to garden! She loved the Utah Jazz and Ice Skating. Sometimes you would hear both
TV's going at the same time with both basketball and ice skating going on. I remember when I was in elementary, my dad would have to go to work early in the morning and so my grandma would come and pick me up early in the morning and would let me eat all of her
mochi for breakfast and then take me to school. I am sure she didn't really like coming and picking me up at 6:00am, but she never complained. I remember when I was in junior high, I would ride my bike over to her house and pick raspberries with her and then take some home. She always had like a million piece puzzle out that I would end up working on while I was there.
My grandma truly is my hero. When I was having a difficult time with our failed placement a couple months back. I went and visited my Grandma and even though she cannot talk, she brought me so much hope. As I sat there talking to her, she just squeezed my hand and a tear ran down her cheek. I knew she understood every word and that she was telling me that she loved me. Many times when I ask my grandma a question, she will try to answer, but it does not come out right, so she says, "I don't know." I thought about how that would be to not be able to tell your family how your felt about things they were asking you. Of course, we all knew how Grandma felt about us, but it would be really difficult to have so much to say and not be able to. Grandma's life reflected selfless love and we all knew she loved us. I thought about how active my grandma has always been and now for that past few years has barely been able to walk. I guess I just thought about how strong my Grandma is and because of the trials that she has been able to endure, I can endure any trial as well. Hopefully, one day my actions will express how much I love all those around me, without having to say a word.
As I wrote before, my grandma has been my hero as I watched her suffer through an extended illness and on November 24th, 2012, she finally went peacefully to rest to be with my granpa again. She continued to love to the end and always wanted to make sure her family was ok. The viewing and funeral services were great and I know my grandma would have been smiling. She would have smiled when my mom's cell phone went off during the services, she would have laughed when my niece farted really loud when grandma's casket was closing and we were all crying and lauging at the same time, and she would have smiled when my little nephew started clapping and saying "yeah yeah" after part of the service. That was just the kind of grandma she was. All the grandchildren were asked to write some of their favorite memories of grandma and Ron was asked to read them. I know grandma was smiling during this part. I am grateful for the legacy she left behind and I know I will see her again! I love you grandma! Here are the memories of all the grandchildren........
Leigh:I don’t have just ONE memory of my grandma, but what I did have was a
second mother, a best friend, a roommate, a sports fan, someone to eat
out with 5 times a week, someone that made me laugh, someone to iron
for me because I didn’t know how, a shopping partner, the grandma that
would stop whatever work she was doing when I would show up at
Stokers, and dig through her purse to get .50 cents to buy me a Fanta
Red Cream Soda, someone that would sit on the top bleacher with her
orange sun umbrella and never missed any of my games, the person that
would grasp her hands so tight watching the jazz play that she would
break blood vessels, and the grandma that accepted me for who I was
and loved me unconditionally. These and so much more are the
memories I will cherish forever, she was the coolest and most supportive
grandma I could have ever asked for and I am thankful for that.
I love you and will miss you granny goose!!!
Jennifer’s Memory:My favorite memory of my Grandma Kay is – every time Mom, Grandma
and I would go to the mall, before leaving
we would stop at ZCMI and Grandma would always get me some cashews.
There were only a few that we would share but they were so good.
Adam:As I think back about Grandma, many memories fill my mind...
...fresh raspberries from the garden, a bucket of KFC waiting for us after
a game of backyard football, birthday presents wrapped in the Funnies,
Grandma in the stands at nearly every baseball game, and Mochi, ginger
beef, and Octopus (which is called "Tako" in Japanese) on New Years...
One New Years, Grandma did not have any Tako. When I asked her about
it she said "Well, I went to the store to get some, the man asked me what
I wanted and I said 'Can I get some...um...well...I need some...nevermind."
She started laughing, shaking her head, and threw up her hands and told
me "I was so embarrassed...I couldn't remember what it was called in
English, so I just left!"
Grandma K will forever be missed, but the many warm, loving memories
will always be with me.
Kyle:The one thing that stands out to me about Grandma was her ability to
find humor in life. Whether it was falling down the stairs, inadvertently
serving her favorite grandson rotten milk or saving her favorite grandson
from a gigantic garter snake (seriously this thing was huge), she always
gave out the laugh that we all love.
I remember when I was in her basement one day and heard somebody
FLYING down the stairs like a wild teenager, so I timed it perfectly and
came running with my arms out in perfect attack mode and gave my best
Godzilla roar, meeting this wild person at the bottom of the stairs. I
thought that it could only be my sister who would be coming down the
stairs so fast but sadly I was wrong. In one brief moment I realized my
mistake…this also happened to be the same moment when my eyes met
Grandma’s eyes and I saw nothing but sheer panic and horror on her
face. Her momentum immediately stopped and she magically flew back
up the stairs without ever touching the ground. In this brief moment I
was convinced that I had literally scared Grandma to death. I was
embarrassed, scared, ashamed of myself, but once Grandma reached the
floor again she was laughing hysterically. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve
ever seen her laugh so hard. That was Grandma, always finding
something to smile about.
Brandy:I have a lot of great memories with Grandma (and most of them involve
being at a baseball, softball, basketball or soccer game because she was
our #1 fan)...But really when I think of Grandma a few specific things
come to mind:
- Cabbage Patch Dolls - surprise, surprise - Grandma had the best
collection of UNOPENED Cabbage Patch dolls.
- Souvenir spoons - Every time we went on vacation we'd have to get a
souvenir spoon for Grandma so she could add it to her collection.
- Kentucky Fried Chicken - This may sound odd, but it seems whenever
we went to visit, we'd always have KFC at Grandma's.
I love you Grandma and treasure the memories you gave me. I will forever
miss you!
Brandy
Casey:I'll always remember walking through Grandmas garden and picking
raspberries and cherry tomatoes. The smell of raspberry bushes will
always make me think of Grandma.
Glen’s Memory:My favorite memory of Grandma Kay is - she was always at my football
games no matter how far away they were. During one of the games she
cheered and clapped so hard she broke a blood vessel in her finger.
I’m going to miss my grandma a lot. I just hope she is proud of all of my
cousins and myself for what we have done and who we have become.
Darcee:
When I was in 6th grade, I moved to my Dad's house and in order for me
to stay at my same school, Grandma would pick me up at 6:00am and
take me back to her house. It was great! She let me eat mochi for
breakfast and we would do her million piece puzzles until it was time to
go to school. I loved the one on one time with Grandma.
Another great memory was when I got my first job working with
Grandma at Stokers. I thought it was pretty cool that I was the grand-
daughter of a superstar. Grandma and Auntie Yuki were so fast and could
plant 4 flats in the time it took me to plant 1. Grandma was always kind
enough to help me catch up when I was falling behind.
My last favorite memory was a couple years ago when we were trying to
adopt. We had had a couple of failed adoptions and I would talk to
grandma about how much I wanted a baby and to be a mother. She would
just hold my hand and cry with me until I was comforted. Thank you
Grandma for always being there for me and teaching me what it means to
love.
I love you!
Amber:The thing I remember most is calling my Bachan on the phone and
leaving her messages on her birthday and holidays. I also called Bachan
to tell her when I started kindergarten and second grade so she would
know how I was doing. Goodbye Bachan I love you.
