Grandma,

It’s been 4 months, yet a reminder of your passing still seems like fresh information to me. I’m glad you’ve always taken an active approach to life. You’ve helped so many families immigrate and find a safe haven in the United States, despite the many challenges that our own family had faced; even until the very last days, when you tried to escape your bedridden state and head for the bathroom; even until the very last hours when you held my hand tight to overcome a gasp of fresh air. Until the very end.

But let’s not call it an end. Your light still shines through the garden you have built (I stopped by the house to water it last week), through the people you have touched, the house that you have left, and through me. Waiting at the bus stop taught me lessons of patience, carrying groceries home under the hot sun taught me lessons of hard-will, and taking care of you taught me lessons of passion and responsibility. You made me a better person.

Send my love to Lola Goring and Aunt Marlene for me.

Love,

MJD