End of an Era

For 2 1/2 years, Aunt Riesa has been an integral part of our daily life.  Her room now sits empty...lifeless...noiseless.  And it makes me sad.

A variety of circumstances led to the decision to return her to an assisted living facility.  Primarily, this move put her in close enough proximity that her mother is able to see her at will.  That's a good thing.

Riesa came to us with special needs (obviously), and her presence in some ways complicated our lives.  It required at least an additional 20 minutes to get ready to go anywhere...hoisting her wheelchair in and out of the car...extra trips to the bathroom...remembering to always bring along an extra set of clothes...etc.   In small ways, our lives were inconvenienced and our "ease" lessened.

But more than all of that, Riesa brought joy and laughter to our home.   Even her grumpiness could be a source of entertainment.  And her hearty laughter, which rang through the whole house when she watched episodes of "Andy Griffith" or "I Love Lucy" made us smile. 

She left her mark, that's for sure.  Grant will remain "Scrant" and Julian will always be "Garfield."  But she left her mark in more significant ways too. 

I was privileged to watch my boys serve her without complaining.  Never ONCE did they express any regret about her presence with us.  We regularly called on them to stay home with her so that we could attend adult functions.  They willingly did all that we asked...without a single complaint in word or attitude.  That right there made the whole thing worthwhile for me. 

When Grant would come home, more often than not, his first stop was in Riesa's room to say Hi or give her a hug.  And I was amazed at the way he could bring her out of the foulest moods and make her cheerful again.

Eric put up with a lot from her.  Riesa spent the first year or more being irritable and bossy with him.  But he endured it and never became resentful.  By the time she left, she was treating him with warmth and kindness too.

Watching Julian take to her and love on her was another joy.  He loved making her smile and getting hugs and kisses from her.  He even loved being called Garfield by her!

I hope we were a blessing to her life, as she was to ours. 

I went to visit her at her new home last night for the first time since moving her in.  We talked and laughed and made silly faces at the camera.  I gave her a foot rub while we watched "Master Chef" together.  She seems happy and settled.  She's been swimming and bowling, and she has returned to her old "school" where she has many friends.  She gets to spend a lot of time with her aging mother.  And she has a fair bit of independence.  Those are all good things.  And as Riesa would say: 

I'M GLAD!