Dear Grandmother (A Tribute)

My maternal grandmother - the anniversary of her death - just passed. Now it's Mother's Day and gray, rainy. A bit sad. She died when I was twenty. I had not paid too much attention to her illness, and I did not attend her funeral. It was in another state and I had a newborn. I regret so much...on her "Saint's Day" I wrote:


Dear Grandmother,

You meant so much to everyone. I wish you could have comprehended how much you were loved. I'm sorry I took you for granted and just expected you to always "be there." I'm sorry that I had no language for grief, and could not feel and could not share.

I think this was your day - the day you left. I'm sorry that you made it through the winter only to die in the spring. I'm glad you left when the earth is most beautiful, though.

Thank you for the painting lessons. I will light a candle today in front of the small painting I have of yours. It is of tiny houses - maybe the edge of an Irish village - with a tree and a fence...