Resuming

Well, I have to start somewhere. Life post-grandma has to resume sometime, including blogging. But for today, I will keep it brief and funny, with various one-liners from the trip. This photo was taken on Friday, March 26th-Denise's birthday, and less than 3 days before she collapsed. There she was, baking cakes right up until the end. Just as she would want it.

“This is the pink limit.”

Grandma's last words, told to Mark to convey her frustration at the hassle of collapsing and needing to go to the hospital. Apparently this was an oft-quoted remark of her mother's (Jessie Kaziah).

“You have hand-eye coordination??”

Claire, to her cousin Emily upon realization that Emily plays racquetball. In our family, this is truly a remarkable and rare quality.

At the hospice, the chaplain came and introduced himself to the family members that were congregated there. When he left grandpa asked who that was, and when someone else explained the chaplain's position, Lee quickly and simply replied, “Priestcraft.”

Talking about Bella's propensity for dawdling, I remarked that she could be a professional and Linda said, “Too bad that's not a marketable skill.” Indeed.

Michelle was charged with making grandma's Triple Caramel Cake for the funeral. Somehow the oven turned off during the baking so when we tried to turn it out of the bundt pan it fell apart. When grandpa saw the pile of cake innards he joked, “Take a picture and label it, 'The first cake made after grandma died.' “ It was so good to hear him joke.

“Too bad you're not an emotional eater.”

Me, to Ryan who is trying to quit smoking. To my knowledge, he went the whole trip without a cigarette and I was pontificating that if it were me, I would eat my way out of nicotine addiction.

“See you later...alligator.”

Seriously, some of the last words my grandpa spoke to my grandma. Said without a trace of irony, it broke the mood of sadness for just a moment as we all chuckled to see him speak so tenderly, yet humorously in her dying moments.