Catching Idle Butterflies

Gone Home

8/17/06 12:38pm. That’s what the time read on my phone at work when Dave’s Uncle Philip called to tell me Dave’s Grandmother (the one I’ve written about before) had passed away. Before I had a chance to think about the weight of the news, I called Dave at work to let him know.

For the next four hours, Dave called up his parents and two of his brothers. He held up okay until he talked to his Uncle Ben, the youngest of Grandma’s children. Uncle Ben was holding up even better than Dave, especially considering how he found out.

No one could find Ben. He was traipsing around in Bismarck, having left his mother only a half an hour before she died. Dave called all of his known friends, and they knew nothing. Finally Dave called Carol, Ben’s sister, back to tell her he had no idea what to do next.

“Never mind,” Carol said, “he’s walking through the door now.”

Dave hung up to give them time to talk.

Uncle Ben called about an hour later. Turns out Carol didn’t have to tell Ben anything.

Right after Dave left work, Ben came in to visit him. He asked this little blonde girl where Dave was and she said, “Oh he left because his grandmother just died.”

Ben said, “How can that be? Lucille (Dave’s other grandmother) died years ago – Oh, you mean my mother.”

That poor girl! I guess she felt so bad, Ben noticed and mentioned to Dave when he saw her next to tell her not to.

With all the phone calls made, Dave and I both spent the rest of the evening talking and grieving. This weekend will be uber busy with getting ready for the influx of relatives and the funeral to be held either Monday or Tuesday.

Some say when people grieve, they grieve not for those who died, but for themselves. In some instances, like this one, that’s true. She had a life worth celebrating, and now she’s cavorting with God and the angels. How can I but rejoice at that? So yes, I grieve, but because, I will miss Grandma’s smile, and how it always made her pale-blue eyes sparkle. I will miss her quiet humor and her stories. I will miss the banter she and Dave shared because they had the same sense of humor.

But I also rejoice, because I know I will see her again.

Dave asked me why we grieve even though the person who passed lived a long and great life and will see again someday. I tried to give my own thoughts, but none made sense to him.

Finally I said, “You’ll simply have to ask God when you see Him.”

He smiled and said, “No. I’ll be too busy talking to Grandma.”

Yeah. I think Heaven just became more interesting now that Grandma is there waiting for us.