Grandma pics

I was digging through our photos for some pics of my grandmother to share with you. I only found a handful. I have lots of regular pics of her, but not many digital. And since our box of pics is so hard to get to right now, these will have to suffice.

The first pic was taken in June of 2001 at her home. My parents lived in California during that time and were down to Alabama for a visit, as were we. I snapped this shot of her on her sofa. Isn't she lovely? Her name was Evelyn.



The second one was taken in 2001, also, in front of one my grandma's favorite places to eat: The Golden Corral (a buffet-style restaurant). She always arrived early for dinner so her chicken would be cooked on a clean grill. She was Norwegian, what can I say? We like things clean. :) She's with her sweet hubby (now deceased) and our 3 youngest. Son's shirt was really messing with the camera! This was a few years before her dementia began. She was a wonderful grandmother and great-grandmother.



Here she is with my mother on her birthday in 2007 after she came to live with my parents. My mom had taken her to get her hair done and had gotten her a corsage. She looked so beautiful.


This pic was taken 3 years ago at my folks' place after Grandma's dementia had set in pretty good. She didn't know us at this point, but she was very talkative and friendly like she had always been. She became quieter as her disease progressed, sleeping more and more.



That's Littlest behind her blankie.

And then the last pic is from this past November. She was spending her days doing a lot of resting on the couch. She didn't want to do much else.



In many ways dementia makes you feel like your loved one has already died because they don't know you anymore. It's like talking to a total stranger. That person you knew is gone. But inside that "stranger" is the grandma I love, and nothing changes that fact. You are long prepared for their death, but when it happens it still shocks you.

I thank God for my wonderful mother and father who cared for her so lovingly in her last few years. They gave her the love and care only family can give. I'm very proud of them. My mother honored her mother until the very end. I hope I can do the same for her one day.