It's so common when someone passes on that we hear words like "truly missed" and "Gone to soon" pass over the mouths of loved ones and as if they are reading from a book someone will whisper next "The world just won't be the same". Too often as a natural need to find peace we take a person and turn them into something they weren't and place them up so high on a pedestal that no one could ever really reach.
Truth is we lie.
This weekend Mrs. S passed on. Grandma Schille was all of those things we tell ourselves a person can never be, and yet she was. Or at least she was all of those things to me. Grandma Schille was by far the most welcoming person I met when I became a member of the Sgt's family, not that anyone was unwelcoming, but Mrs. S, she could fill you with the feeling of warm apple pies, and soft blankets. You got the feeling that just by being near her you were better off in the world than you had been before.
But she didn't leave this earth too soon. In fact this earth kept her much longer than I think was fair. 100 years on this earth is enough if you ask me. But even when the time is right and the notice is not all that much of a surprise there is still something inside of you that just wants to cry.
Mrs. S was loved and she so dearly loved in return.
I could tell you the facts of her life. 13 kids, 40 something grandkids, almost 50 greatgrandkinds and I think just recently she even became a great great grandma....but then I've never been able to keep all the people in this family straight so don't quote me on that. Out lived her husband, out lived her memories and her stories.
I could tell you how she loved to laugh and smile even after she had lost all ability to really communicate. How she knew a good joke when she heard it. That she loved a cold beer on a hot day, a cold day, a mild weather day.
I could tell you how she gave the best hugs, even when she became weak and felt almost breakable to the touch her hugs were still something to be admired. How her eyes always met yours to say hello and how she ALWAYS said hello. Long after her mind had given in to age and she couldn't remember who you were she would still offer you up a hug and a hello. I could tell you how even at the age of 98 she was willing to play with her great grandkids and never once complained about ANYTHING. How even recently when the Birds would visit her and she had no idea who we were she would still want them close to her.
Oh man I could tell you so many things that made this woman great, maybe not perfect, definitely not a saint, but great. Truly great.
And even though I could tell you all those things and I know you would so very much be willing to listen, I don't want to. I only want you to know that when she closed her eyes on Friday night and went to sleep with maybe dreams of love and family filling her head, she didn't wake up here with us, but rather she woke up to find herself in the one place where love truly is all around and for that I am truly happy.