Generational shift

My grandmother passed away on Saturday night. Shirley Anderson took her last breath around 11pm and died peacefully in her sleep. Earlier that day I drove down to Englewood with my mother to visit my Aunt Dayle who was in town caring for her mother.

By this time we knew her time was short. I am so glad I went say goodbye. She woke up when I saw her. She recognized me. She said she was ready. She thanked me for coming to see her. I gave her a pain pill, a sip of water, and a kiss. I said, “I love you,” and she went back to sleep.

As hard as it is to lose a loved one, I am happy for my grandmother. She never wanted to live longer than my grandfather, and when he died a few years ago it was hard for her to go on living by herself. They had spent a lifetime together, and all she had left was her memories.

I will remember my grandmother well. In fact, I always felt fortunate to have known all of my grandparents because they each gave me a special connection to the past. Now that they’re gone, my parents are getting older, and I have children of my own, I am acutely aware of the generational shift in my family.

Rather than feeling weighed down by the world – with my grandmother’s passing – and depressed about the holidays – with the ever-present feeling of loss over my brother’s death last year, I actually feel a sense of renewal.

Perhaps it’s similar to the “brush with mortality” feeling that I experienced when John died, but if feels more like turning the page – or better yet – finishing a good book. I have a sense of accomplishment. Other than survive, I can’t point to anything I’ve done, but I feel like I’m somehow prepared, in some way ready to go on with life…

Until next week,

Matthew Anderson, President
Milestone Marketing Associates, Inc.