Goodbye to a great grandma and a generation

March 19, 2016

Eve just turned 9 months old today and Sierra is 2 years and 8 months now.

The whole month we have mostly been feeling the loss of Great Grandma Maribeth. She passed on the morning of March 4th. We've all been rather intimately involved with Great Grandma in our daily lives since she moved in with us. Although before that we were making it to visit her apartment in Fresno fairly consistently. More recently she had an infection that led to a dramatic decline in her health, and it has been sad to see her regress to the point where she was unable to climb out of bed any longer.

I am so happy that the girls, especially Sierra, have clear and vivid memories of their great grandma. She met her when she was barely 3 weeks old and Eve met her when she was only 3 or 4 days old! Me on the other hand I have only known her for a little over 5 years. We first met on the Christmas before Gus moved to South Carolina with me when she flew down (with Lyndsey) for the holiday. Over the past few months I have grown closer with her, as one would expect with living in the same house. I have heard stories of Washington, I have seen the joy the girls give her, I have witnessed sincere gratitude and wisdom, along with stubbornness and a strong mind. She expressed so many genuine compliments to me just when I had thought she had forgotten who I was (which would have been okay too since I've only truly known her in the years when dementia had begun to confuse things for her). I am so thankful for what she gave me however long or short and what she gave to our daughters. She was a woman of strong character, and I am happy to have known her. I am glad we were all given the chance to say goodbye. I had been telling Sierra what was happening throughout the weeks prior when I noticed the decline had begun, so she wouldn't be frightened by the changes that were taking place. Sierra often brings her up, and says Great Grandma passed away, I wanted to say goodbye again. The sweet soul that she is. Many of the following pictures were collected from Lyndsey and I am glad that I get the chance to use them in the blog.

 

 

Sometimes words can't quite describe the meaning of the moment.

The kids have been busy this month. As they tend to be. Which helps.

Today we had a building party... Gus asked Derek and Mike over to help finish our carport. Jenna and the kiddos came over and Hilary came over as well. It was an all day undertaking for everyone, it was especially awesome for the kids. They had all day interaction with kids of their own age, and we all had a great time together. They played, wrestled, painted, chased each other, dressed up, snacked, hugged, drank from the same water bottles, squished their toes in the mud and took a bath together. I couldn't help but add the bath time pictures (which are totally reminiscent of my own childhood with my sister and brother shoved in a bath with a random cousin).

 Eve's been taking in calories in new ways... All new foods, and loving most of them!

 Playing at the playground is always a good way to get Sierra excited!

 Eve is feeling VICTORIOUS now that she can eat things by herself like bananas.

 We love playing in Grammy's and Grandpa's playhouse. Tea parties now actually include Evie!!! She's cruising now.

 Sierra just looks so sweet in her Auntie's clothes from when she was a girl.

 We took a great group hike with Jenna, Derek, Ryker and Colton, Emily and Esther and Emily's sister and kids and their mom down to the river gorge.

 The perfect time of the year for a hike: all of the wild flowers are going crazy!

 The kids LOVE all of the running creeks.

 Sierra loves to spend time with Ryker and Jenna. She often talks about seeing him throughout the week and how I am going to see Jenna and Eve is going to see Colton and Daddy will see Derek.

 Sierra and I often dork-out and get goofy now that Eve takes naps in her crib we're able to spend more time together.

 Our property and neighborhood "common area" are amazing to spend time on with the girls, especially with all of the blooming flowers.

 We had a great time having a golfing tournament with Anne, Jerry, Mike, Lyndsey, and Cousin Nic. The girls looked especially cute in their matching outfits.

 Our kids can't get enough of their Uncles on the Heliotis side of the family.

 Sierra tells Uncle Nic, "Look man, you gotta tell your clients that the probate judge ain't havin' it. Of course all of my evidence supports this statement as shown to you by figure one in this diagram."

 The girls and I often spend most of our mornings playing in the living room with the sun shining in on us through the dappled oak shade.

 We visited Pasadena, CA this month to see my best friend, Crystal, and her husband Onkar.

 We loved visiting the ocean! We saw two whales! Played in the ocean, dug in the sand, and generally just loved being alive.

Most of our trip was actually centered around activities for Sierra; Crystal had it all planned out.

 We went on some hikes close by their house. It sure is a great refresher to see a friend that feels like family!

 Auntie Crystal loves our girls like they are her own nieces!

 I still get to run with Emily and Esther at least once a week. It's so nice having a few good friends to spend time with.

 Sierra loves spending time with both of Emily's kids. Edwin treats her like she's a "big kid."

 Dress-up happens all the time. It may take control of the whole day depending on Sierra's mood.

 We had Jenna, Derek, Ryker, and Colton over this month for a little golf tournament too.

We visited Jenna and Derek up in Pine Ridge and they got the kiddie pool out for the kids to play in. They are a riot together. I feel like they are learning so much from each other. 

I am so lucky to have each day with my wonderful family. I know that this adventure in life is truly what you make of it and how much you put out is what you get back. As Hilary would say to Great Grandma to ease her anxiety, "You don't have to worry about taking care of anyone now; you've done that all of your life. Now is your time to let others take care of you."