Dear Nan,With Love From Below

My Dearest Nan,

It’s been a week since you left and finally laid your head to rest amongst the stars. In the time that you’ve been gone, there have been tears, there’s been relief and there’s been darkness. When you left, it felt like all of the colour had been taken out of our world and replaced with the darkness of what was once your light. Your smile and your beautiful personality are now only memories and your love and your laughter are now only a spirit of the lady we love so much.

There is no speedy cure for heartbreak. The night you passed, the hearts of the lives you touched broke in two and we immediately knew that we’d never felt this type of pain as you took your last breath and before we were forced to say our final goodbyes. The moments that lead to your death were quick and we had never anticipated how quickly those moments would shrink down to just one last breath from the many breaths in your vibrant life.

Although your death has let so much hurt and pain into my heart, I am relieved that you are no longer suffering and that you can finally rest. You so deserve to be at peace. Saying goodbye to you was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life so far but all of those tears were worth the aftermath of knowing that you lived an amazing life surrounded by the people who loved you more than words can say. Your generosity and kindness will never be forgotten and you’ll always be remembered as loving, incredibly selfless, strong, delightfully funny and so very wise.

Through all the sadness, we must remember to keep reminding ourselves of the things we loved about you. You cracking jokes about people on the tv, your love for everything sweet, your soft hum as you walked around your house, you feeding the dog extra bits of food from your plate and us telling you off, you feeding your birds and watching them gather around the birdbath, your love for gardening and your endless strength and positivity.

I always said that it’d be hard to imagine a world without you, but now that I’m forced to do so, I only want to make you proud and to remember all of the unforgettable memories of the moments we shared. I am grateful for how close we were and for the opportunity you were given to watch me grow into adulthood and to support all of us in our stages of uncertainty and celebration.

In the months to come, we will miss you greatly along with your charming habits and stories. Your love will be forever ingrained in our lives and we will hold onto all of the great things that we may have taken for granted. I hope you’re up there smiling down on us, rooting for us in all that we do and I hope that you miss us as much as we miss you.

Rest in peace nan,

Forever your granddaughter,

Stacey x