Sarah Doherty

Always thinking. Always dreaming.

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  2. My Grandma

    I haven’t written anything over the past few days because I have been at an absolute complete loss for words.  For those of you that know me well, you know that this is few and far between for me.

    For the past few years my grandma (my mom’s mom) has not been doing well.  Four years ago, when I was a freshman at RIT I took a bus to Cleveland, Ohio to help out my family pack her up and move her to Ann Arbor, Michigan close to my aunt in an assisted living facility.

    When Ryan and I went cross-country our first stop was in Ann Arbor, Michigan where we stayed for the night to see my grandma.  College is a blessing and a curse because you don’t get to see family as regularly as you used to.  Grandma was frail and had trouble remembering who I was – she kept referring to me as Nancy (my mom).  But I was happy that I got to see her and give her a hug and finally introduce her to Ryan.  I cried that day because I knew that she was not going to be here with us much longer.

    A few weeks ago, Grandma was moved into a hospice.  My mom flew out to Ann Arbor twice over the course of 3 weeks.  I was lucky that I had an opportunity to talk to my grandma on the phone multiple times and say my goodbyes and “I love you’s” for a few weeks.

    On Wednesday morning, my mom called me and told me that grandma was not doing well at all.  Aunt Darlene was at the hospice with her and if I wanted to call I could tell her I loved her one last time.  How do you say goodbye to someone?  When I called Grandma was unresponsive so I just talked to her for a bit.  A few hours later I found out that she had passed on.

    Even though I had braced for this for so long, I am a huge mess.  I’ll be at work or driving or even at home and then something will set me into a huge ball of tears. 

    My grandma had a huge impact on me.  She gave me my history – she made me proud to be Slovak and a second generation American.  She told me stories about her childhood and how much her fellow peers teased her when she came to America and had pierced ears. 

    Grandma was a mastermind in the kitchen.  She fed me like nobody else has before (sorry Mom!  - you come a close second.) – I have eaten the best pirogues, chruscik, stuffed cabbage and soup under her roof.  I have an appreciation for my ethnicity – and know that food made from scratch is the best out there.

    Grandma was a talented artist – she could have easily made a very successful career out of her paintings.  Whenever we were in Ohio at her house I loved the endless supply of paints and brushes available to us. She would often sit down with me and teach me how to work with watercolors or help me out with a painting.  I remember secretly envying her and how good she was – I just wanted my paintings to come out like hers!  For birthdays many years we would get hand painted cards from her – I treasured these – how many grandma’s do that?

    There are so many things about my grandma that run through my mind as I think about how much of an impact in my life she has had.  It’ll take awhile to move on, but we do have to think – what would Grandma want?  She would want me to be out living my life, kicking butt at whatever I am doing.  She was not the type of person that ever sat still or mopped around – I need to be like that.

    Thank you readers for letting me “rant” and spill my feelings – it’s very therapeutic and well needed in situations like this. 

    With that said, I’ll leave you all with my grandma’s obituary from the Ann Arbor News. 

    Suzanne Mason          
    Mason, Suzanne Age 84, passed February 7, 2007. Beloved wife of the late Joseph Mason, mother of Janet Leary (Kevin) of Cleveland, Nancy Friedlander (Joseph) of New York and Darlene O’Brien (Thomas) of Ann Arbor; grandmother of Sarah, Rebecca, Matthew, John and Lauren. Born in Slovakia, Suzanne lived most of her life in Cleveland before relocating to Ann Arbor. She was an exceptional cook and talented artist. Funeral services will be in Cleveland. Memorials may be made to Arbor Hospice Foundation.

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