Last Saturday my maternal grandma celebrated her 90th birthday. It was a nice day - the weather was stormy, but we still managed to have the party outside as we rented one of those waterproof pop up garden gazebos. Everything was a success: all of the guests made it, the food was excellent, we had fun conversations together (we even paid a short visit to the museum), grandma shed a couple of happy tears. I'm going to remember that day very fondly!
My maternal grandparents have always been incredibly dear to me - with grandma being the biggest role model in my life. Their house was my safe haven when I was a child, I could quietly play there for hours, sitting under the piano, hidden behind a large plant. It's still a safe haven today! I know I'm always welcome there, I know they're always happy to see me. They're the sweetest, kindest, most humble and selfless grandparents I could ever ask for and no words can describe how lucky I feel for having them in my family. They are a blessing.
My relationship with my paternal grandparents never came close to that. We just didn't get along, me and my paternal grandma in particular. I wish it didn't have to be like that, but maybe we were not meant to be friends.. not on this side at least. I said my last goodbye to her on Monday. It was the first truly hot day of this Summer; I think she'd appreciate it because she seemed to enjoy sunny weather, she definitely loved Summer flowers. The ceremony was quite beautiful, I even teared up a little when she was put to rest and one of the musicians played Amazing Grace.
The past 5 or 4 years of grandma's life were very sad. She had a stroke that rendered her disabled, she couldn't walk, she struggled with speech and had problems with recognising family members. She also suffered from some sort of bacterial infection that didn't want to go away despite trying multiple treatments. I imagine she felt lonely and bored too - she was used to a completely different lifestyle before her health started to crumble. She spent her final days in a hospital and passed away on 4th of June, aged 86. If she lived for 10 more days, she'd celebrate her 87th birthday next Monday.
Rest in peace, grandma. I hope we can be reunited one day and we will become good friends.
