The bus ride home

Nana passed away on Friday evening.
It was peaceful and she was okay; there was nothing really else that could be done that would offer her any kind of quality of life.
I'm glad that it was this way instead of the alternative.

I recently wrote about my feelings about death and my very deep faith that we are all here on earth as one aspect of our existence. Having that faith and belief structure allows me to be okay with Nana's transition into the next realm where she joins others who she loved in her life.

Her parents and brothers, her husband, and her grandson, (my cousin, Toma.)
I know they welcomed her home.

When my cousin died suddenly in a freak avalanche accident six years ago (almost exactly...) I dreamt of him.
In my dream he was dressed in a hospital gown type garment and everyone was around him, crying. All of the people that loved him and were grieving were standing around and we were all waiting for something or someone to arrive. Toma was walking around talking to people, he was smiling and laughing. He was confused as to why everyone was so sad. He kept looking at us all, with a puzzled expression, smiling and saying, "Why are you so sad?" He went on to say, "I may be leaving, but when we see eachother again, it will be forever."

A little while later a bus pulled up.
It appeared and Toma boarded it.
It was taking him on his next journey.
To forever, I guess.

Nana had a long life of 83 years.
She had three children, seven grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
She was married to my Pap for over 50 years and he loved and adored her.
She loved musicals, beaches, traveling, sewing, and making stained glass.
She collected china and bells and lots of interesting little knick knacks from her travels all over.
She and my Pap were once on the Guy Lombardo New Years Eve Show.
I remember watching them dance on a black and white television screen. Guy Lombardo died the next year I believe.
Nana loved her "stories," and was very interested in everything that Danny and Cricket and the rest of them did every day.
She loved ice cream, and fell asleep in her chair all of the time.
She always set a beautiful table and everything had to be just-so. (I learned that from her...)
She called me Honeybunch.

When I was a little girl, I would visit my grandparents. I would bring all six of my "kids" (dolls, that I loved and went everywhere with me.) I would sleep in the big antique sleigh bed covered in quilts that my GG (great-grandmother) made. I loved the way her house smelled and looked and felt. Everything was always pretty and nice with a million beautiful things to look at. She had so many books and photo albums and record albums that would entertain me for hours.
She also had cable and I watched MTV for the first time at her house.

They lived in New Jersey near a big lake. My grandfather had a boat named Pargie and we would go out in the boat for a picnic. During the days, Nana would take me to the lake to swim at the beach. I would go down the slide and she would help me with my breaststroke or butterfly. She always wore a swim cap and a bathing suit with a skirt!

They would take me to NYC for plays and movies and dinner. I remember seeing The Christmas Spectacular with the Rockets. I remember those trips into the city, in my grandparents big car seeing the New York City skyline coming into view for the first time; the twin towers and the empire state building. We went to the Bronx zoo and I have a picture holding a snake. We went a lot of places, and they loved me very much.

She was a good Nana to me, and I will miss her very much.
I am so very grateful for the wonderful memories that I have of her and what she taught me through the years of my life. They are lessons that I will pass on to my own grandchildren someday and they will pass on to theirs. She learned and taught the lessons that she needed to learn and teach, and now she has boarded the bus to the next chapter of her existence.

I wish her a lovely journey.