Writing this blog seemed impossible once Barb got so sick that she could no longer take care of the twins. It seemed cruel for me to be writing about my experiences with them, knowing she was reading it, knowing her heart must be breaking with the pain of wishing she could be taking care of them herself. Here she hit the Grandma lottery and has twin granddaughters and she can't help care for them anymore, what a terrible twist of fate. I wanted to quit writing about them, but she asked me not to. I don't know how many times she thanked me for doing it, saying how much it meant to her to know that the girls were loved and taken care of, and that she and other family members enjoyed reading about what they had been doing. This past Thanksgiving and Christmas were the worst, when she missed the twin's school programs, I didn't want to mention it for fear of hurting her, I couldn't imagine what she felt having to stay home, but Kelly said to go ahead, she would understand.
I often wondered if I could be as gracious as she was if the situation was reversed. I doubt it.
She was a good friend to me, my "partner Grandma" is how I thought of her. We had many conversations about the kids and in the last months she worried that the twins would forget her. She had me promise her I would never let them. Never, ever Barb. How could anyone ever forget her? She was a gem of a person, a wonderful Grandma, strong, kind, loving, she made me, and I imagine everyone else in her life, feel special. What a gift. And funny, she had a great sense of humor, one thing she said that cracked us up was when we were transferring the girls from our car to hers a couple of years ago in LaCenter. They were acting up, as only they can, and she said "don't you just want to drop-kick them sometimes?!" Oh my gosh, she was down-to-earth and funny, and yes, that sure put everything in perspective.
She has the sweetest grandchildren you can imagine in Rachelle, Adrianna, Dale, Mikey, Lexi, Luke, Ava, and Harper. That she had to leave them so soon is just beyond unfair.
Rest in peace Grandma Barb
Love,
Grandma Jennifer
Well i hope you always know that she always talked about how good you were to the girls. Of course she was a little envious but it had absolutely no negatives against you, she was just envious that she wasn't able to do those things also. Barbara was a great grandmother and it shows in how the older ones talk about her. They are old enough to remember her kindness in all of them and I hope that they, with the help of you Jennifer keep that beautiful lady alive in Ava & Harper's mind and heart. Those little ones meant sooooooo much to get and kept her going. With all of that said, i love your blog. So keep up the good work!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jolene, and yes, we will always keep Grandma Barb's memory alive with the twins. It will be easy, as we loved her, too.
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