“Hurry up!” her mother yelled. “We need to head to the hospital now,” she stated assertively. Her brother drove the three of them to the hospital as quickly and safely as possible. That car ride felt like eternity for the 10 year old little girl. They eventually made it to the hospital and her mom ran out of the car.
Of course, the little girl couldn’t stay and so her brother drove them to their cousin’s house for the night. The little girl knew something wasn’t right or normal. However, she was more than excited to see her cousins.
They played a 5 hour game of monopoly, watched 2 movies, and ate lots of stuffed crust pizza. While she was devouring her third slice of greasy pizza, suddenly her mother called and explained that she needed to stay the night at the hospital and so that the little girl and her older brother would be sleeping over at their cousin’s house. The little girl, unaware of the severity of the situation, cheered that she would be having a sleepover.
However, that excitement quickly vanished due to the fact that less than 5 minutes later her mother called again saying that the little girl’s grandma had flatlined. But in complete honesty at that point it was 2 am and the little girl was physically incapable of keeping her eyes open any longer. She knocked out on the floor and prayed to God that her grandma would be okay.
When the little girl groggily opened her eyes she found herself in the back of her parents car heading home. Sure she was only 10, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew exactly what that meant. I knew what it meant. My parents wouldn’t have left the hospital if my grandma was still alive.
And so as we drove home in silence at 3am, tears streamed down my face. And I began to think about how on Mother’s Day I wouldn’t be calling her anymore, or how at family gatherings I couldn’t sit next to my grandma on the couch making fun of my brother. I would no longer pick her up on the way to church, and I would no longer spend my days off from school with her.
All my friends still had their grandmothers but mine was gone, and I wasn’t ready for that. Here I am, 6 years later and I still am not over it. I wish she could’ve seen me get my license. Or see me graduate next year. Or even see me get married in 10 years. But she’s gone and so she’ll continue to miss the milestones of my life, and I’ll continue to miss her.
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Photo Credit: Nardine Metry
