It's been a while....

Well it's been quite sometime since my last blog post, so this ones gonna be long!

My sister, Ellen finished Leah's room and on Saturday before Labor Day we had made plans to do some finishing touches and maybe pick up the furniture. She came over about noon and we got to work. Jerrod had gone to the Tennessee/Western Kentucky game and I was cleaning out and re-doing our closet. I had clothes strewn from one end of the house to the other! Daddy was going to come over and help me put in new shelving and rods cause I hate that metal Closet Maid stuff! It is such a hassle and not worth a dime! So Ellen and I started working and my mom called. She was planning on coming over and helping but had just received word from my Aunt that my Grandmother had another stroke. Evidently when Aunt Chris went to pick her up for her Saturday morning hair appointment she was unresponsive. My aunt called 911 and they took her to JCMC. Mom didn't have any details other than they were on their way to the ER at JCMC and would call when she knew what was going on. She wanted us to keep on working and get what we needed to do finished. We worked most of the afternoon but since we painted the closets and they weren't dry yet, Daddy couldn't do his part of putting in the shelving and rods. So Ellen and I went to the hospital later that evening. Grandmother was still unresponsive but would squeeze our hand if she was asked to. We had no idea what the next week entailed.

On Sunday, we all went to church scared that we'd get a call during services with bad news about Grandmother. We all tried to act as if everything was going to be okay but none of us were sure. By the way, my entire family goes to the same church, all of Grandmother and Grandaddy's kids, spouses, grandkids and their spouses. After church, the cousins all go out to eat and that day was no different. After we ate Daddy and I went to Lowe's and got everything we needed for the closets. We came home and got to work. Ellen and I went to Babies R Us and picked up Leah's furniture. Later we went to the hospital and Grandmother had no change, she wasn't even squeezing our hands anymore.

Monday was Labor Day and I stayed home all day and tired to rest. I felt awful because I didn't even go to the hospital to see Grandmother. I was so tired from all that we had done I just wanted to stay home.

The next few days are a complete blur. I went back to work on Tuesday but felt like I needed to be at the hospital. When I got off work every single day, I was at the hospital until late in the evening. I don't think I got home before 11:00 every night. I was emotionally and physically exhausted. The days were just dragging by and it was so hard to watch her slip away from us. The most heart wrenching thing is knowing how excited she was about Leah and how I wondered if she would even get to see her.

On Friday something told me to leave work early. I got to the hospital about 3:30 and kept telling Mom that I was going home but for some reason I couldn't leave. Myself, Mom, Aunt Chris and cousin Sarah stayed all afternoon. Then my sister got there about 6:30. We all chatted up a storm, laughed and talked for quite some time. We were just hanging out talking about Leah about 7:45 when all of a sudden it got really quiet. Grandmother's breathing had been really raspy for the last few days and it had stopped. We all looked over at her and she drew her last breath. For a moment it was like time stood still. We had all prayed that she wouldn't suffer anymore and knew this time would come but nothing can prepare you for that. After what seemed like an eternity but was mere seconds, Mom asked me to get the nurse. I went in the hall and asked them to come in. It was official, she was gone. She had fought so hard since her first stroke in April and it was just so hard to believe. It's been commented, "Well she had all of her girls with her, even the current addition." I truly believe she would be so happy to know we were all there with her. We called the rest of the family and if you read my post when my Grandaddy died you know that Grandmother donated her body to Quillen College of Medicine as well. We all had individual moments with her and had prayer led by my Uncle Joe. I know that God was with each and everyone of us. It was so peaceful and comforting to know that she is in a much better place now. She was such a fine Christian woman who loved the Lord and loved her family. For those of you who may read this but don't know, I am named Mary after her and boy is it appropriate! Many times in my life my own mom has said, "The name sure does fit!" I am in so many ways like her and I take great pride in that. I miss her so much and wonder somedays what I'm going to do without her. I wish Leah could have known her and I wish she could have known Leah.