Nana

Nana passed on early this morning…

Written October 2010 –
I can’t say I knew my Nana all that well. She lived a little ways away but everytime I arrived she would have noodles waiting for me. I can’t have a bowl of ice cream and rasberries without thinking about her and she is the source of many red envelopes. I remember going into the okanagan dessert looking for plants to dye her yarn with, playing many games of war and spending the lazy hazy days of summer around the pool at the orchard. And I remember that my Nana was BEAUTIFUL just like her name ‘Isabel’. People always asked if her and my dad were brother and sister. Even without her daily regime of makeup or adorned with jade she looked young and vibrant.

My Nana is dying. I would say that I just found out today, but I think we all have known for a while. She has Alzheimer’s disease and since she “got” it, I have slowly discovered that I would never wish it on anyone and I think it is the worst possible way to die. My Nana is is stage 7, she has been sleeping 24 hours at a time, sits in a chair and may occassionally open her eyes or give a little smile but that is it. And perhaps this is a better place for her than say, stage 5 or 6 when she didn’t recognize her own reflection in the mirror and thought there was a strange woman hanging out in her room, stealing money from her. But even now, one wishes she would pass away complete peace as her spirit has seemed to leave her anyway.