Grandma's passing

We lost our Grandma Gros when I was in the first grade. She died in her sleep, very peacefully one night. She died in our room--the one that Kathy and I shared with her. We were hustled off to school while mom and dad took care of arrangements. They were going to have her taken "up home" which is what we called the area of Kansas that we came from. It was still the location of the majority of our relatives. Anytime we were going to go visit them, we would say we're going "up home". Later that day, they came to the school to pick us up, and I put my head inside my desk (we had the kind of desks that you lift up the tabletop and there is a storage place inside for your books). My fears and worries were closing in on my little six year old mind so I played ostrich so I could ignore it. Sister Mary Neil approached me and said "Ohhh" and was hugging me as she took me to mom and dad.

After all that mom and dad changed rooms with us. That is when we got our bunkbeds and had a single bed in there for Kathy (or maybe it was Michelle in the single bed, not sure) One thing I am sure of is that I got the top bunk!!! I know a couple times I did go in to check on my mom, her twin bed was in the same place that grandma's had been. I would stand beside her to watch if she was breathing or not--of course that in itself woke her up and I would tell her that I wanted to be sure she could wake up. She comforted me and told me she was still real young and was going to live a real real long time. Then I'd be just fine and go on back to bed.