Last night at church we were singing ,"In the Sweet By and By" and I was remembering my grandmother playing that song on her harmonica. Someone sang it at her funeral in 1977 and at my mom's funeral in 2008. My mom died of Alzheimer's and I'm going to do a post on that here soon. It is still difficult to write about and to think too deeply on. But last night, a Wednesday prayer meeting, brought to mind a memory. One Wednesday night in late 2007 or early 2008 we were at church and Mom kept wanting to stand up. I'd let her for a while and then persuade her to sit down. We have a country church and everyone knew her condition so it was no distraction to the service. However, this night she got a bit loud in trying to talk to me about who the preacher was. I took her out in her wheelchair into the vestibule and began to talk with her. She actually had known this preacher for over 35 years and had been close friends with his wife. I explained in detail who he was , who his family was, his daughters, how Mom used to work at his house with his wife in a sewing business, etc. Mom was remembering! She knew then who Brother Denver and Sister Vera were. I asked if she understood now and wanted to go back in and hear the service. She looked at me with still a bit of confusion. I said, "You know who I am , don't you?" She said, "You're Denver's daughter?" I had to laugh. Brother Leon was in the vestibule also with his young child and had heard the whole exchange. He just looked at me and smiled. Mom is in the sweet by and by now where she knows "even as she is known."
What blessed memories. I didn't even recognize her in your living room at first. I miss her too. You really should write more of your memories. Don't let them fade away. Many times a week we share some sweet memory of my grandmother, now gone almost 5 years. It was in honor of her that we began having the Kennedy reunions. They rarely visited her when she was alive. I may have to do a post in honor of her memory. Thank you for sharing Diane.
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