Speaking of Letting Go

From the time I can remember, whenever you’d say, "Bye, bye, Granny Boo," she’d always answer, "Bye, bye, darlin’," in that southern Virginia accent. Every time. Even when I called her last summer at Little Sisters Of The...

In My Dreams:

Jal, the boys and Mom and I drive to Washington, D.C. and get Granny Boo. We drive to the ocean. Ally, GB’s nurse for the last 10 years, comes with us because we love her. In fact, all the siblings and grandchildren can join us in the dream – most of them...

The Ugly Truth

OK, this is absurd. Granny Boo has started eating again. Great. She is ready to die, but her body just won’t quit and is now demanding nourishment. The same miraculous modern medical machine that has kept Megan alive, given her more years with her family, will...

Mommy, Megan and Granny Boo

I’m not wanting to write about this because it’s very very sad. Heartbreaking, really. I think it’s why I haven’t been good about blogging the past few days. This topic is sitting on top of everything else. That’s death for you. It is...

Climbing the Stairway to Heaven

Sweet Jesus, it’s a long haul. Granny Boo is ready, waiting. If she wasn’t too tired to climb, she’d be taking the steps two at a time. She is lucid, as comfortable as possible. She is loved and being cared for. Certainly in no pain. There is nothing...

Lipstick and the Joie de Vivre

In my family, it is a crime to be seen without lipstick. I resisted this notion most of my life. Silly rebel. I have since seen the light. When I was 32, I finally looked my mother right in the eye and said, "Mother, I’m a grown woman. [I really thought I...

Granny Boo Update

Granny Boo has a very distinguished Southern accent. If Melanie Hamilton, Gone With The Wind’s true heroine, were 96, she’d sound just like Granny Boo. Aunt Gay is there in Washington with her. Gay told us that when Granny Boo woke up this morning, she...

My Granny Boo

The lady in red is Granny Boo. The date Christmas ’02 at my house in Key West. The year we had the 8′ tall candy-cane peace sign in our yard. Granny Boo’s real name is Nancy Tazewell (the 12th) Lee (my grandfather’s name) Yakel (Aunt...