On Feb. 14, Brian's grandmother Eleanor Cracraft passed away. (Click to read her obituary, which I helped write. It expresses much of what I think of her.) Minutes after I had heard the news, I decided that after about 17 years as a widow, her sweetheart didn't want to spend another Valentine's Day without the love of his life.
I had known her for about 17 years and called her "Grandma." She outlived my biological grandparents by about 13 years. She taught me so much about faith, love, humor, forgiveness and generosity. I was so blessed to have the relationship with her that I did, especially in recent years. We had many conversations about parenthood and motherhood, and I loved watching her interact with Westley, her first great-grandson. In recent months, Brian and I made surprise visits to her apartment with Westley. It always tickled her so much.
Grandma and Westley at Christmas 2010
The last time we saw her was Feb. 12. Brian, Westley and I attended a baby sign language class at Wesley, the hospital where he was born. Grandma had been admitted there as a patient a couple of days before. After our class, we went upstairs to visit her for about an hour. We showed her new signs that we had learned and sang "This Old Man" with signs. I showed her pictures of Westley with his first valentine and told her about the delicious dinner Brian and I had shared the night before. Our visit was lighthearted and casual. She was expected to be released from the hospital a few days later, so it hadn't occurred to us that it would be the last time we would see her.
Westley gave her a valentine he had "signed" for her. In it, I wrote:
I love you this big:
<------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
and then some more!
The message made her laugh. We displayed the card so she could see it during her stay.
We also admired the beautiful view she had from the hospital window:
She could see all of Wichita, the city she called home for most of her life. It's where she grew up, raised her children, saw them raise their children and then delighted in that generation's children. In hindsight, it seems fitting that she spent her last days with this view. I hope it brought her peace and that she knew how much good she had done in this community. Wichita is a better place because it was her home. And I am a better person because of her influence and love in my life.
Click to view more photos I took of her in recent years.
I had known her for about 17 years and called her "Grandma." She outlived my biological grandparents by about 13 years. She taught me so much about faith, love, humor, forgiveness and generosity. I was so blessed to have the relationship with her that I did, especially in recent years. We had many conversations about parenthood and motherhood, and I loved watching her interact with Westley, her first great-grandson. In recent months, Brian and I made surprise visits to her apartment with Westley. It always tickled her so much.
Grandma and Westley at Christmas 2010The last time we saw her was Feb. 12. Brian, Westley and I attended a baby sign language class at Wesley, the hospital where he was born. Grandma had been admitted there as a patient a couple of days before. After our class, we went upstairs to visit her for about an hour. We showed her new signs that we had learned and sang "This Old Man" with signs. I showed her pictures of Westley with his first valentine and told her about the delicious dinner Brian and I had shared the night before. Our visit was lighthearted and casual. She was expected to be released from the hospital a few days later, so it hadn't occurred to us that it would be the last time we would see her.
Westley gave her a valentine he had "signed" for her. In it, I wrote:
I love you this big:
<------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
and then some more!
The message made her laugh. We displayed the card so she could see it during her stay.
We also admired the beautiful view she had from the hospital window:
She could see all of Wichita, the city she called home for most of her life. It's where she grew up, raised her children, saw them raise their children and then delighted in that generation's children. In hindsight, it seems fitting that she spent her last days with this view. I hope it brought her peace and that she knew how much good she had done in this community. Wichita is a better place because it was her home. And I am a better person because of her influence and love in my life.
Click to view more photos I took of her in recent years.
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