happy mother's day / miss you Bis-y

Well, to catch up this blog up to our lives, I'll mention that March 16 was Dylan's birthday and he had a nice time with us at home that night and then the following weekend with family and friends.

When April started, we discussed what we might do on my grandmother's birthday which was May 2nd. Sadly, she got sick, then was in the hospital for 2 weeks, and she passed away on April 19th. April was a cruel month this year and we are all still recovering and missing her.

One good thing, however, as we look back on her life, we can know that she was loved and cared for. She had been living with my parents for over 20 years now and she was always around family and doted on by her two sons. For years she bugged me about having a baby (for many, many years). Finally, we gave her a great-grandson. And they soon became good friends. Dylan spends his weekdays at my mom's house so he played with my grandmother every day. He called her "Bis-y" (pronounced Beesy) -- short for "Bis-abuela" which means great-grandmother. On the weekends, she missed him so much, she would call my cell phone to ask me if he was eating OK (because "he looks so skinny"). She would get up and out of her bed so that she could sit on the couch and watch him play. He would bring his little toy cars to her and turn on the radio and ask her to dance with him. She probably danced more sitting down on the couch this last year than she did in the past 20-30 years. Dylan made her laugh and gave her energy and I think he brightened up her life so for that I am so grateful.

This picture is the last picture we took of my grandmother on Easter Sunday. It was a beautiful day and we all ate outside and then just lounged and enjoyed the weather. My grandmother said it felt like she was in Uruguay...with everyone eating a nice long meal and then relaxing and listening to a soccer game on the radio. Though I keep wanting to go back to that moment, I guess by remembering it and cherishing it, in a way I can keep going back. Today is our first Mother's Day without our grandmother and I think the lesson I'm taking is to really enjoy those moments with our family when we have them. Today I'm going to do just that with my own mom, with Keith's mom, and with my sweet darling baby who calls me 'mommy.'