In my life, I've been lucky enough to know three of my great grandparents. By this, I mean that I have distinct memories of times spent with them. From Poppy's retelling of Uncle Wiggly stories, to the time Murphy's snores scared the shit out of me. An additional one or two great grandparents were alive in my life, but they died before I ever knew them.

In Bean's life, the great grandparent list is much smaller and is shrinking. His great grandfather's health isn't the best (he's actually in the hospital as I type). Both great grandmothers suffer(ed) from Alzheimer's and one of them had several recurrences with breast cancer.

Yesterday, Bean's great grand pool got even smaller when my grandmother Mimi passed away. She had Alzheimer's and breast cancer. When the cancer reemerged, she chose not to fight it. I think in her mind it was just a race to the finish. The Alzheimer's was progressing; she knew that she wasn't remembering things and it frustrated her. It hadn't yet gotten to the point of not recognizing her children (which I think is a fresh hell for the non-sufferers), but no new memories were sticking. The cancer was on its third round and I think she felt it was just time. For a woman who always maintained that 60 was old, living 20 some years beyond that was more than enough in her mind.


I'm sorry you never got to meet Mimi, Bean. Maybe in the next life you'll see her. You'll know it's her by the killer good beef stew she makes and the curly hair that it looks like you're inheriting. When you see her again, ask to play tiles with you - she'd like that.

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