This jetlag thing is real folks! I think I was kidding myself to just assume it wouldn't affect me all that much since my sleep is so disrupted with two littles. But every single time I put my kids to bed whether it's for a nap or for the night, I doze off for a short while. And I'm taking naps during the day!! What?? I didn't even know that was possible. I'm finally taking the advice to sleep when the baby sleeps! Who knew I had to travel all the way to Ireland to do that.
And I sit here in the quiet of the house, the calm before the storm. I know that today is going to be an emotional day. Not only due to the lack of sleep because every little thing seems to be heightened and Peter and I have been trying our best to consider this and cover each other with grace, but because today we are celebrating the life of Peter's Granny Sally.
Granny Sally went home to the Lord last week, and I can't even begin to tell you how much my heart aches for this sweet family. You guys she was such a little love and such a sweet blessing! This photo popped up on my facebook feed a few days ago. I think it was taken 4 years ago. And the joy she radiates in the photo is real and pure. And she loved her family something fierce. She would always fill you full of tea and biscuits and send you away with a hug and a kiss and crumbs on your face!
I was hoping she'd get to meet Ryan as she had met Jack two years prior, but alas the Lord had other plans! And for that I am thankful. He wanted her home with him, and I praise Him for that. However, it doesn't mean that you don't grieve and wish for just one moment with her. It doesn't mean that you don't miss her sweet little spirit or her Irish isms (God Love em!).
Yet amidst the grief there is joy. And I'm so thankful that we are here to do this together. To celebrate her TOGETHER as a family. To remember her TOGETHER as a family. Thank you Jesus for that, for your perfect timing. I'm so thankful Peter is here to do this with his family.
And even though I know death is inevitable for us all, the loss of a grandparent is hard. The loss of anyone is hard. However, as I type that, I can't help but think about the fact that I am 33 years old, and I have never been to a funeral. EVER. Well maybe I went to one when I was really really little, as one of my grandpas passed away when I was like 4, but I don't recall it at all. And my other grandpa passed away before I was even born. So the matriarchs remain and one of my grandmas did remarry before I was born, so he's really the only grandpa I've actually known.
Anyhow, the point is...death is inevitable, and as both of my grandmas are nearing their mid 90s, I'm left to reflect on their lives. So many years of life lived. So many tears and so much laughter and so much love. Yet, with each year of life, they are now losing a part of their old selves. And it's been hard to watch my parents witness the loss of their parent before they've even left this earthly world. It's been hard to watch them grieve for the person/parent they once were, for those lucid moments, for those good conversations, for those moments of sheer joy rather than those moments of pain.
And yet, as hard as it has been, it's made us all reflect on their lives and our own lives as we walk this path of aging...TOGETHER, with my grandmas, and God willing, with my parents. How can we love them, care for them, honor them in a way that brings honor and glory to God and to themselves? How can we do a better job of respecting them and seeing the value they still add to our lives and to this world even at the ripe old age of 90 something? And how can we do this well amidst a culture that may tell them otherwise?
And those are my Irish musings for today! So thankful for this time to just sit and reflect and write.
And if you're the praying type, I'd ask that you pray for my family today...that amidst the grief there will be joy, laughter and so much love.
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