For Uncle Ken

I'm fairly certain that the only people who read this blog are my Uncle Ken and my mom. But mom reminded me today that Uncle Ken said he always likes reading my blog. That seems to have given me a greater desire to update my blog more regularly.

I'll be honest, I often think of things that would be fun to write about and share. But as Dash said yesterday, I lack some mental skills at the end of the day because I have use so much of my mental capacity in everything I do. So, things often slip my mind at the end of the day.

This past week has been very weird. I'm not even sure that random even really began to describe it. I spent more time working, which I'm grateful for, but it gave me little time to get things done, especially since I spent last weekend "visiting" with friends (which is definitely much needed, and most times long-overdue, but it's a balancing act between work and school).

My grandmother is passing. We've known for sometime now that she wasn't doing great, but I feel as though the slowing down of her body has been sudden. My grandmother has had severe dementia for many years now, but her body has always been strong. Her body is now failing her. But our bodies aren't made to last forever. It's really weird to be so far away and so "removed" from the whole process. I think in it's own strange way that death has a way of bringing people together. I think that I've talked with my mom more than normal (although, it's usually quite a bit), and I think she's talked to Uncle Ken almost everyday this week.

I feel strangely emotional about everything. I know I've not always been close to my grandma, but it's an odd sense of loss. I think it's one thing to know that someone is there, and an entirely other thing to know that that person won't always be there anymore. I think it's also more intensified by the fact that she's my last living paternal-grandmother. All of my other grandparents have passed away.

She was a storyteller. And I'm sure that she was a hoot in her younger days. I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it back for the funeral, but I feel certain that I'll share her memory with others. I think I want to have a celebration of life with my friends nearby. I'll make her biscuits, grits, fried ham, and perhaps I'll make a super Southern dish just for her.

I think she'd like that. And I think that she'd be mad if I didn't share her stories. Almost every time I think of grits, I think of the story of how she made grits for the first time shortly after she married Elbert. It turned into a big mess and rock hard. So she gave it to the birds. But soon she will fly, like birds she has so often told me stories of.

I've made lasagna for tonight, and it just came out of the oven. It looks great! I'm so excited!!! So I'm going to share a few photos with you. It's super easy, super simple, and very pretty!!