"One short sleep past we wake eternally, and Death shall be no more...
Death, thou shalt die."
From Holy Sonnet 10
It has been nearly six months since the passing of my grandmother. No one ever told me that it would be easy to move on, or accept that what once was is now no more.
I wish I could tell everyone one in the world what she meant to me. For I know that she deserved to have everyone know her name. But the simple truth is, even with such an opportunity, I could never find the words to express such a whirlwind of emotion.
Jackie was my grandmother, my friend, my teacher, mentor, and guide. Only in her death have I been allowed to fully realize the impact she has made on my life. Everyday I learn in more and more ways just how powerful that impact has been.
I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to sit at her side and express to her the many things I felt. I was given the chance to right the wrongs and heal old wounds. I, like so many others, did not understand her methods of pushing those she cared about to reach for the stars. She and I had many confrontations, and our relationship was not what it should be for way to long. But, as I spoke with her just under two months before her final passing, all was forgiven, all was forgotten.
That to me is the power of love. No matter how passionately you argue with someone, when the time comes to say only those things that really matter, the past is forgotten, and all that remains are two hearts, connecting on a level that God had always intended for his children.
Now I reach for the stars in a different way. I hold my hands high in the air to thank my grandmother for all she has given me, and to praise God for allowing me to know and love such a powerful and honorable spirit that once was my grandmother.
