This Christmas season was simply more beautiful than it has ever been. This may seem a bit odd to say this at first but my Christmas season became the perfect Christmas season when my Grandma Hansen passed away yesterday. There are many reasons for me claiming this to be perfect and I hope you will be able to read this and understand why and if not, please just try to be open to my thoughts.
December 25, 2012
Christmas day Justin and I called my parents to wish them a Merry Christmas and before we hung up the phone my dad told us that my grandma had slipped and fallen and "broke" the tube in her back that was allowing her to function in this life with as little pain as possible but image a tube in your back, dripping fluid, you couldn't escape a whole lot of pain but that just goes to show you there that my grandma was and still is a fighter. We were told she seemed to be doing okay, but this wasn't the best condition she could be in at her age and with the amount pain her body had already been through it didn't look to promising.
December 26, 2012
The next day was kind of just a wait to hear something. Anything really. Justin and I were driving to go see Les Mis when I get a call from my mom saying that grandma had a stroke and was unable to talk was unconscious. Hearing my mom say this brought quiet a lot of joy to me only because time and time again my grandma would always joke, but seriously joke, about how she would like to die she would like to become unconscious have a stroke and die. My mom then said that they unhooked her from everything (hearing in my grandmas voice "No heroic measures will anyone go to to save my life, just let me die") and that it could be a quick passing or it could take a couple of days before her body finally quits working. We continued on into the movie theater and sat down.
To any of you who have seen Les Mis keep reading, if you haven't and don't want me to spoil it even though hopefully most of you know how it ends. Jean Valjean is old, and leaves Cosette's wedding to die. He is met by Cosette's mother, (met by a family memeber/loved one) Fantine who has already die and is there to help bring him to the other side. As this scene continues Jean Valjean "spirit" has been lifted out of his body can hear the spirits on the other side greet him in song, "Do You Hear the People." (hearing angels sing and rejoice the homecoming of Phyllis Millar Hansen and listening to the words of that song and how true it is to come home and listen to the people on the other side sing to you about the fight that we had here on earth) [here] He walks down the brick sidewalk and he is greeted by the father of the catholic church (Meeting Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ) then is taken to the other side where he is met by Fantine again, and all then young men (Grandma seeing all the rest of her family and friends) who fought for their rights. Where I have inserted the work [here] is where I read the text saying that my grandmother had passed away. Now go back and read this and correlate it in a religion sense.
I cannot not tell you how amazing that experience was and still is to me. Being able to steer away from being sad that she has passed and simply being fill with love and joy as I try to image this Les Mis experience that grandma just went through.
Life changing for me.
The best part, really the best part is that December 26th is her birthday. Happy Birthday Grandma! I'm sure you got the best birthday gift you could have asked for.
Thank you Grandma for being such a strong, loving, giving, special woman in my life. You have been a beautiful example and I am proud to call you my grandma. I love you always, and I can't wait to see your face again.
