In loving memory of a singular woman

On Saturday, October 22, my Grandma Morgan passed away after a painful battle with cancer. Her death has left us all reeling. While we knew it was fast approaching and were blessed with the opportunity to say our goodbyes, it has been a much more heart-rending experience than we could ever have imagined.

My grandma was a grandma like none other. First and foremost, she loved us all fiercely. She cared deeply for her family and sought out the best for everyone. She was a feisty woman. She was an active woman. Grandma did everything with feeling and verve and honesty. She never minced words and said what needed to be said. But Grandma was a witty woman and often what she said was infused with humor and concern. Grandma was tough and fearless and true pioneer stock. One thing I will always take away from my time with Grandma was her quiet service. She was so lively in so many ways, but she never at any time sought recognition for all the times she cared for others - inside and outside her family. She saw need and she did what was in her capacity (and many times beyond her capacity) to do to rectify a needy situation. And you rarely knew about it unless you caught her in the act. It was second nature to both my grandparents to serve others like they would their own children. What remarkable people!

I don't want to paint this event in a rosy hue and say that it was a blessing in disguise - because it was not. My grandma's absence leaves a tremendous hole that will never be filled. But what was a blessing was the realization that I belong to such a wonderful family. My grandfather is one of the very best of men and his great love for my grandma was evident in his every action, especially during the twilight of her life. I am also truly impressed by my Mom and her brothers and sisters who gathered around my grandparents throughout this trial and have been such a blessing and support to each other. You guys are my inspiration! I am more grateful than I can say for this example of character and compassion.

Our last visit with Grandma.
Oct. 8, 2011. Kuna, Idaho.

Our family on our last visit with Grandma.
Oct. 8, 2011. Kuna, Idaho.

Grandma and Grandpa Morgan.
Morgan Family Reunion, July 2011. Kuna, Idaho.

Our family with Grandma and Grandpa Morgan.
Morgan Family Reunion. July 2011, Kuna, Idaho.

Now that is a handsome-sized family! (And we were even missing some!)
Morgan Family Reunion, July 2011. Kuna, Idaho.

This is how I will always remember my Grandma - on a snowmobile at Yellow Pine.

We love you Grandma... and we will see you again!
Save us a place at the Genealogy table, and this time, its my turn to go out first.

Some updates

Well, I haven't had a chance to get to the store to develop any recent photos, but the film rolls sure are starting to pile up - so when I do, there should be plenty to show. Of course, they will all be of Tom and Mary Alice, but the kids are much cuter than parents, so it won't be a terrible loss.

It has been a bit of a rough road since Mary Alice was born. The hardest part was losing my Grandpa Bradshaw. He had been ill for a long time, but it was still hard to think of him as gone. Going back to my Grandma's house after the burial was the hardest part - I was always expecting to see him come through the back door, looking for the keys to the four wheeler or calling out for "Mother" to come for a drive in the truck. He was such a vibrant man and we will miss him terribly. It was amazing how wonderful my dad's family was, though - they all took turns going and staying with Grandma and Grandpa during the last part of his illness and they have all rallied around Grandma since Grandpa passed away. I am truly amazed at the level of care, honor, and sacrifice that has been shown during this hard time. What a great legacy to both Grandpa and Grandma, to have raised such a good family. I only hope we can do the same.

Since coming home from the holidays, we have had to adjust to life with two kids on our own. Prior to the holidays, we had John's mom or my mom taking care of us - and I was starting to think that having two kids wasn't really all that different from one. But we are really starting to feel the difference now. We are truly grateful to our moms for taking such awesome care of us. Amazing how you never get over needing your Mommy, isn't it?

Mary Alice has been growing quite a bit and is such an engaging baby. She smiles all the time and is rather interactive for being only five weeks old. She has been an easy going baby and endures the "loving" from her big brother with good grace. She has been ill of late, though, with a rather nasty cold. So much so, that we ended up taking her to the Emergency Room on Saturday night. But it looks like she is finally on the mend. What a relief!

Tom has been really good to his little sister, though his adjustments to sharing the attention have been seen in other aspects of his behavior. He has been a bit more defiant of parental authority of late. It came to loggerheads the other day with a decided victory on his side. John was insisting that Tom eat some dinner (a continual battle for us) and Tom was loudly declaring that he was playing and did not want to eat. When John laid down the law and made it a choice between dinner and going to bed, Tom loudly replied "No! I am the king!" How do you respond to that? We never did - it took a good 10 minutes before we could stop laughing and by then Tom had gone back to playing.