Once again, I've been absent for a week.
Out of all of my years of existence, this one has been the most brutal, at least in the form of event onslaught.
I am barely keeping my head above the water.
For the past week I have been on the road almost daily, with most of the travel being a whirlwind of a trip to the Columbia River Gorge to celebrate my Grandma's life with my family and friends.
Grams was just the best. Like truly, the grandma with Mentos and Tic Tacs in her purse, a farm to visit and learn from her on, and arms always open for a hug. To say I loved my Grandma was an understatement. I truly dislike the idea of the world without her and Papa in it, but I also know that everyone has their precious time on this planet. I know I'll see Grams again.
Seeing my baby cousins orchestrate everything warmed my heart to no end. My cousins are all 6-14 years younger than me, and I spent a large chunk of my time as a teen watching them. They are truly special to me, and they took amazing care of Grandma at the end. Having such caring family is one of life's great blessings.
As I sit here typing this, I am trying to conjure the strength to whip through a couple of classes today. I am so tired. Like bone tired. There has been no rest for me this year, and there won't be until after I head to Chicago next month to see the boy graduate boot camp.
Yet, even as weary as I am, I think about him. The Navy let him FaceTime in for part of Grandma's service. To see my kiddo sixty pounds slimmer, all serious, yet trying his hardest to stay composed and professional in the face of loss and seeing us all for the first time in two months gives me strength to keep going. You see, my grandma was born with a birth defect, was hospitalized and paralyzed at 11, learned to walk again, and spent her entire life enduring an incredible amount of pain. Yet through it all she was the embodiment of gentle strength. As Grams went, so go I.
I will miss her.
And as most of the time, the pictures in this post were taken on the author's very well-traveled and never at all frazzle iPhone.