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There is nothing fun about this post so I'll just give it to you straight up, with no chaser. Some of you may remember that Finn and I went down to Miami to celebrate my grandmother's (Gerry) 90th birthday. We call her Gerry because she refused to let us call her grandmother because she thought that made her sound old! What an accomplishment--90 years and still as feisty as ever. We loved seeing her and she loved seeing Finn and of course, being the center of attention. That was three years ago. We have seen her a few times since then but not as often as I should have (or would have liked to). 

The birthday girl (3 years ago)

Early in January of this year my mom went down to Miami to spend her 93rd birthday with her. She made a shocking discovery. I'll give you the reader's digest version here, but my grandmother wasn't being (and hadn't been) cared for properly and her health had drastically deteriorated. A lot has happened in the past month. Maybe one day I'll share it with you, but right now right here is not the time or place. I flew down to spend a weekend with her and felt a range of emotions upon my arrival. Heartbreak because what I saw didn't match the woman I know, love and remember. Anger over what had happened and gratitude that I was able to spend a weekend with her without any distractions--just me, my mom and my grandmother, and the nurse. It was a hard weekend but a good one. Her face lit up when I walked through the door Friday night and she said, "oh, Robin, I've been waiting for you." 

I held her hand, sat in the bed with her, told her stories about the past--of our shared memories, of Finn and what she's missed. We went through boxes of old pictures and I showed her new ones of Finn and our family and our life. She was awake for some of it and asleep through most of it. But every now and then she would look at me and smile as if she was noticing me for the first time. 

This is how I choose to remember her

As of the end of February, she is doing better. They are hoping to get her well enough to be able to move her to Atlanta to be closer to family, help and support. I fully expect her to make it back to Atlanta so that I can take Finn down to see her. She is feisty and very hard-headed so in this case it will really work to her advantage. I am looking forward to seeing her again soon and I will keep you updated on her progress.