Her 108th Birthday

My grandmother would have been 108 years old today.  She died late last May, two weeks after her 107th birthday.

Photo taken on one of last trips.  My grandmother
is watching a video of her beloved Pavarotti.

It's been a complicated year for me, emotionally.  We were close and yet often disagreed.  More than once since last May I've found myself thinking about telling her something, sending her something - and I cannot.  I had to remind myself that there's no longer a need to send a card at a holiday, or a postcard from my travels, or to make a vest or some other item as a birthday or holiday gift.

In the Jewish tradition, you spend a full year mourning a close relative.  I am coming to the end of that year, and yet in some ways, the mourning never ends.  As long as there are memories, I will miss not being able to make more with her.

As my mother often says, 107 years is a good long run.  I am glad I was able to visit and celebrate that final birthday with my grandmother.