In June I had to go to Jonesboro for my step-grandfathers funeral. He was married to my father's mother. I did not know him very well since he lived in Tucson, Arizona and because when I was a little girl he had a stroke and could not remember or comprehend things after that. My grandma stayed with him and took care of him for over 16 years. I think she is such a noble women who stood by him and took care of him even though he did not always know who she was. This is true love. The strokes continued and over time he also lost the ability to walk and had to be continually watched by either grandma or a nurse. His passing was not a surprise since he had been struggling in his last few months. I am glad he is no longer in pain. The problem with death is that it leaves people behind. I am Mormon and I do believe in life after death, but that does not mean that you do not miss them or struggle with their loss. I knew it would be very hard on my grandma, she had dedicated her life and her whole daily routine around taking care of him for so long. The funeral was interesting. It had children fighting and an illegitimate child show up. The Jonesboro LDS Ward took care of our family and with a weeks notice created a service and dinner for our family, even though they only know my parents. I had to go to the funeral alone since John was in Cleveland for work when it happened. I made a gift for my grandma. What do you give someone who has lost someone? Flowers die and are hard to transport across the state. In the end I bought things of comfort: a card, a fuzzy blanket, a bar of chocolate, and a comforting religious CD. She called me a couple months later while moving in with my aunt in Utah to tell me that she had found my blanket again and how it had meant so much to her. It really is the little things we do for each other that make a difference.
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