Grandparents

by Rachel Freedman

“As I was mourning her loss, I realized that I inherited her gift of connection with our family. I also realized I was calling all my family members every week to talk about our lives and to make sure that everyone was in good health.”

When I was little, I always looked forward to my grandmother's weekly calls. My grandmother was named Sally Freedman, or Nana to me, and she was the rock of our family. She held our family together, even if we were thousands of miles apart. My grandmother would always call me every week to check up on how I was doing, and what new things happened to me that week. My grandmother lived with my grandpa in Orlando, Florida, and even though she was thousands of miles away from me, who lives in San Francisco, our closeness was the same, if not better than if she lived right down the block.

Whenever my grandmother called me, I would light up at the sound of her voice. We could talk for hours every Saturday morning, talking about how school was going for me and how the rest of our family was doing. When my mother and I would visit my grandparents in Florida, my grandmother would gather my family together in exchange for a couple hours of quality family time. At the time, I was never close with my uncle or older cousins, because I always felt like I was excluded from the conversations. My grandmother was the one who would change the topic of conversation in order for me to participate.

My grandmother also had a passion for painting. She loved to paint. She could paint for hours and get lost in the movements of her paintbrush. My grandmother was so proud of her paintings, displaying them everywhere throughout the house and even sometimes selling her paintings at auctions. I remember one summer day, my grandparents were visiting and my grandmother wanted to teach me how to paint. She bought all the materials for us and she started to paint. She taught me how to paint a scene of a tree besides a body of water, and how to always be gentle with your art. My painting even won first place at Murray County Fair.

My grandmother always wanted to be included in all of her grandchildren's lives, and she was. She always checked in with each one of us on a weekly basis. I think she did this not only to stay connected with each of our busy lives, but she also wanted each of us to know that she had our backs and that she was always going to be there for us if we ever fall.

My grandmother was the most amazing woman I've ever met, besides my mother. She was always so supportive of everyone and what they wanted to do with their lives. My grandmother passed away in May of 2014. She had been battling cancer for the past month and unfortunately lost. When she died, I felt like I had lost a huge part of my life. Even though I didn't see her every day, she was always there for me. Talking to her over the phone every week made it seem like she wasn't so far away.

As I was mourning her loss, I realized that I inherited her gift of connection with our family. I also realized I was calling all my family members every week to talk about our lives and to make sure that everyone was in good health. It also made me realize how precious life is and to remember that you don't know how long you have with your family, so don't take for granted the time you do have with them.

My grandfather passed away about a month ago from the same cancer that my grandmother had battled five years ago. I believe the lessons I learned from my grandmother allowed me to grow closer to my grandfather than I was before, and it allowed me to also grow in my other relationships with my friends and family, never taking our relationships for granted. I hope that one day, I will be as amazing as my grandparents were for my family and me, and that I may one day pass down the same values as they did for me.