Grandma A; 1917-2009

I received an email from my dad this morning informing us of the passing of my maternal grandmother, Anna Aungst, at 1:05 a.m.

A bit later my mother sent me an email. In it, she said this:

"I was with Mother when she died, watched for death to come from 11:20 on, read to her, sang songs. She had a very peaceful end, I had just left the bedside to try and rest and checked on her, she was gone."

The death of others, especially of people who know God through Christ, is something we should observe, in preparation for our own home-going, because barring divine intervention, it's something that we will all, without exception, have to confront.

Our last conversation with my grandmother was in the hair dressers parlor at Longwood Manor, where grandma spent the last several years of her life. My wife, like my mother, is much more faithful in visiting shut-ins than I am (or generally, is my father...). She said..."this is my grandson, he lives in Mexico." A lucid moment, among many other not so clear last weeks.

I wonder what grandma would change about her past, now that she has a perfect perspective on things. I wonder what I should change, while I can.