I finally found an apartment after a week and a half of looking, averaging about eight apartments per day using public transportation to get to each place. Well, I wanted to get a feel for the connections, lets say me and the CTA are very close now. I finally decided on a place in a great location with an excellent view, and very happy with it, glad I waited. My patience is golden. I move in the end of August. Well, that part of my life is taken care of for now.
I had the sad awakening today in regards to my grandmother. Tomorrow marks my second week back in the United States and there is suspect that she has had a second stroke (her first was about eight years ago). Since her first stroke, she has never been the same and it's always been sad. To be honest, before I left for Germay, I was pretty sure it was the "last goodbye". I received a phone call today from an aunt that I should "Come home as soon as possible." Given my complete lack of foresight, I waited for my father to call me back while I waited in the AIDS fundraiser event in Lakeview.
He called and talked to my aunts and I head out there tomorrow. Even thought I knew this was coming, it's still difficult.
My favorite memory of my grandma is being in her kitchen and going through her cards. She always had a ton of greeting cards send to her for various occations. We would go through them and make sure to reply. I would also help her to clean out her cupboards, while we would make a chocolate cake from scratch. What little piano I know is from her. I would spend hours in her garden, pulling weeds and painting the swingset. My job in the summers was to fill the birdbath, spending hours in her gardens hiding behind trees and pretending that I was in the Secret Garden, which was my favorite book at that time.
I brought my little brother over to her house once, and set him on the floor with pots and pans to keep him entertained. The noise was deafening, clanging pots being banged with a wooden spoon...my grandma did not blink an eye. She said, "Well, he looks happy." and continued on with her ironing and asking what we wanted for dinner.
My favorite story is from a date she went to in high school:
"I went on a date and he picked me up and was very friendly and nice. We went ice skating and I had to get my own skates. I saw the ice cream stand and I said that I would really like an ice cream cone. I looked at him and I repeated myself, an ice cream was about spending 50 cents in those days. He did not buy me an ice cream and I decided I couldn't marry him."
Yes, it seems shallow at first, but if you think about it you understand what she was trying to tell me. I guess I always knew what she taught me, and it wasn't just that one lesson. Throughout my years she has taught me so much that it would be insulting to even go into detail on an internet blog. I keep crying though, because she is a beautiful person and I was really proud to have had her in my life. I know she would tell me to stop crying and do something productive...probably involing the youth group at church!
I am on my dad's couch for the next three weeks. I think I will be okay...but right now is tough.
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